A Princess' Journey
by Cee-Waterbender
Summary: Kiara is princess of the Southern Water Tribe. When her mother Katara tells her to marry, she flees home. In her freedom she accidentally befriends the Fire Nation's crown prince! Or is it more than that...? Rated M just in case
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. The following story is not any part of the show and no story of the creators and is no official ATLA story. This is merely a tribute of my imagination this amazing show. **

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_**Prologue : Family Tree**_

... ...†Kana+†Buna... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...†Azulon+†Ilah  
... ... ... ... ... V ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...V  
... ... ... ...†Kya+Hakoda ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Ursa+Ozai – Iroh+†Surana (rem.)+Ursa  
... ... ... ... ... ...V ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...V... ... ... ... ...V  
... Suki+Sokka – Katara+Nakaru... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...Mai+Zuko - Azula...†Lu Ten  
... ... ...V... ... ... ... ... ... ...V ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...V  
Ceal – Keoh – Leena... ...Kiara... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Aeiroh - Geoi

_*6ASC*10½ASC*13 ASC...7½ ASC...* ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5½ ASC *11 ASC_

(* years born after Sozin's Comet)

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_The world has changed since the Avatar defeated Firelord Ozai. But not all pain has disappeared, that would be impossible. But even in their own families, the Great Five, or the GAang, face challenges. This is not their story, but of their next generation. Kiara is the princess of the Southern Water Tribe, the only daughter of Master, and now Queen Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Love, and the rules of the North have changed Katara, and she is no longer the stubborn and compassionate woman she once was. But her spirit lives on in her daughter, and this, is her story…_


	2. One

_**One**_

I was brought up on the South Pole. Here, my family was around me all day. My grandfather, Hakoda, had once been chief of the tribe, as my father is now. I adore my grandfather. He always told me stories about his days in the war. Those stories were like dreams to me, about other nations, foreign people, magnificent bending and great adventures.

I was born after the war, and couldn't imagine a world like the one in his stories. A lot had changed after the war. The world was rebuilt and at peace now. But many people had migrated, wanting to start over. This changed the cultures of the four kingdoms.

As a first, the lands of the air nomads were now re-inhabited. Avatar Aang had found new airbenders to train, and there were quite a lot of them now. The inventor Theo had also invented special kites to fly with, so there were also non-airbenders living there now. The temples were re-inhabited and restored to their former glory.

Secondly, a lot of people from the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes and Fire Nation had migrated to either the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. So their cultures mixed. Firebending schools had opened in the Earth Kingdom, and in the Fire Nation you could buy Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom food.

And thirdly, the Southern Water Tribe was rebuilt, with all the elegance of the North. However, when the people from the Northern Water Tribe moved to the South, they not only took their skills, but also their rules and habits. After a few years, the South took over the laws from the North. The Southern Water Tribe had lost its freedom.

While the Southern Water Tribe was changing so severely, my mother was still with the Avatar. But their relationship didn't last more than a year. They agreed that they worked better as friends, and Aang left in search of airbenders.

Not long after Aang had left, my mother met my father; Nakaru. He was a strong, handsome waterbender from the Northern Tribe and had moved to the South. My mother didn't like him at first. He kept strictly to the laws of the North, and was just as narrow-minded as them, she thought. Back then, my mother despised those laws – they discriminated women by taking away their freedom – and so she despised my father. He was everything her grandmother had run away from, years before.

But my father fell in love with her, right the first moment he was her. And he was gentle with her, and persisted. He was a great waterbender, by which he earned my mother's respect. And over time, he showed his genuine care, affection and deep love for her. My mother grew attached to him, and her hart melted. She fell in love with him.

With her hart, she melted, too. She loved my father, and by that, her independent spirit softened. She accepted the rules and traditions of the Northern Water Tribe, and obeyed them. They hardened her, and she became a stern woman. The once so strong and legendary Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe was now someone else. The only times you can see her old self again is when she waterbends. She had insisted on being accepted as a master waterbender, and on the allowance of other women to get the opportunity to waterbend as well.

I thank Yue every day for that one gift which my mother has given me, for without it, this story would never have been told…**  
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****Hey guys!  
****I've never been good at continuing stories, I mean, they're already in my head, I know the end, and I can never see why I should continue them. That's why I stopped with my last story. But I would like to have other people read my stuff, and I'm really going to make an effort this time. So, if you read it, please review. I'd like to know if you think it's worth the while. Suggestions are always welcome;) So keep me motivated and R&R please!!**

**-xx-**


	3. Two

_**Two**_

It all started on the day before my sixteenth birthday. My mother and I went for a walk along the icebergs. We sat down in a little cave. 'Kiara,' my mother said. I looked up. 'I need to talk to you.' This didn't predict a nice conversation and I tensed, immediately alert. I nodded to my mother, who was waiting for a signal to start. 'Kiara, tomorrow is your sixteenth birthday, and you'll be a grown up woman.' This was heading in a terrible direction, I could feel it. 'And because of the laws of our tribe, when you turn sixteen…' This was my worst nightmare. '…you have to get married.' _Nonononono…!_ Mother swallowed. She turned her back to me. 'Your father and I already accepted a proposal…' she continued. _No, pleas don't let it be who I think it is! _'…he's a very decent man…' _No. No, no, please!_ '… strong and handsome…' _Please, Tui, La, Yue, hear my prayers…_ '… and he's a very high-ranked warrior…' _Oh no._ She turned around. 'You are engaged to Lu Kaba.' I froze. This couldn't be true. Lu Kaba was the last person on earth I would want to marry.

She seemed to read it in my eyes. 'It's a great match, Kiara.' Her voice was soft now, and she put an arm around me. I fought back the tears as hard as I could. 'But he's so… cold.' I said, my voice shaking slightly. 'He's very nice, Kiara. He's such a kind man, don't overreact.' I looked away, with bitter thoughts about Lu Kaba. My parents didn't know him as well as I did, not by far. She was wrong. I heard my mother sigh.

After this, she spoke sternly. 'You have no choice Kiara. It's your duty, you're the princess.' 'Well I don't want to be a princess!' Something inside of me had snapped. 'I never wanted to be! Not when it's like this!' My mother was angry now, too. 'Don't you dare speak in such a tone to me! You've had everything handed to you, your life had been perfect!'

This enraged me even more. 'No it has not! All the laws and rules about what I can and can't do, everything being done for me… I'm not even allowed to dress myself! That's far from perfect! This is confinement! The South Pole is not a home but a prison! I need freedom, I want to travel the world, fight and help people. You don't know what it's like! You could do whatever you wanted, because it was war!' This hit my mother. I fell silent, and for once, I didn't feel guilty about playing the war card.

Her voice was calm now, but colder than the pole winds. 'No, I don't know what it's like, to have parents and a real home. Oh yes, I could travel the world… a world of destruction and pain. It only cost me my childhood… and my mother. Small price to pay.' Now she looked into my eyes, her stare hard, like ice. 'You don't know what you're talking about. Go home and go to your room. Tomorrow you will be sixteen and you will be engaged to Lu Kaba. That's the last I will say about it. Now go.' I turned, I had no other option. At the exit of the cave I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Mother was still there. 'I thought you were different.' I quietly said, before I left.

In my mind I was determined. I would not marry Lu Kaba. Never. Before the night was over I would be out of here. I silently prepared in my room, packing the things I would need. I took all of my money out of my savings and put them in a small purse. Silently, I stole some food out of the kitchen, and I hid a boat - ready to leave – under my window. Then, I sat on my bed and waited.

My mother might have changed, together with the Tribe, but I was still here, with her old spirit inside of me.

The moon was almost full and was still high in the dark night's sky when I silently got up. I got dressed and took my bag. I placed the letter to my parents on my bed. I felt guilty for leaving them this way. But I had no other option. As I turned to leave, I left my guilt. There was no turning back.

I climbed out of the window and waterbended myself down. I was lucky that there were barely any guards near my room. I got into my canoe. Now, it would be tricky. I concentrated, and bended the water in a bubble around me. Then, I dove under. It didn't go very fast, but slowly I got to the city's wall. I created a hole, and I was through. When I was far enough to not be noticed, I created a huge wave. And I was gone.

For a moment I sat incredibly still. I can't tell if I was more shocked or relieved, but I felt it. The amazing feeling of freedom, for the first time in my life. A huge smile was plastered on my face, as I took the map and compass out of my bag. Although I'd never really been away from the South Pole, my father had thought it important for me to learn how to handle a compass and a map. After navigating myself to the North-West, I started waterbending my boat. It was a technique my mother had once learned from the Swamp benders.

I had decided to go to the place they would least expect me to go: the Fire Nation. I sailed on, occasionally stopping to check if I was still going in the right direction, as clouds began to form over my head. I was nearing the Fire Nation when suddenly, lightning lit up the cloud-packed sky. And then, the storm broke loose.

Colossal waves were pushing and pulling my boat around and the rain limited my vision. I tried to save my boat – and myself – by waterbending the waves, but the sea was too wild and the waves with too many. Suddenly a cliff doomed up from out of nowhere. It was close and I didn't have time to stop it. With a huge crash, I hit the rocks. The boat split in two and I was launched onto the land. I turned around and watched my boat sink. I was exhausted, but I had to do one more thing.

Luckily for me, I'd managed to save my bag. I walked from the cliffs into the forest nearby and sat down. I froze some water in the hollow of a tree and used it as a mirror. Then, I took my mother's knife out of my bag. It had been a gift from Firelord Zuko. He had once gotten it from his uncle, and after my mother had saved him when Azula had attacked him during the Last Battle, he had given it to her. The inscriptions read: 'Never give up without a fight.' I thought that was appropriate for my journey. I had taken it from my mother's room before I left.

I unbraided my hair and lifted the knife. With one smooth cut, I sliced my hair off. It now barely reached my shoulders. I packed my things and hid in the bushes. I fell asleep right away, on the hard forest floor.

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**So yeah, if you R&R please I promise I'll air the next chapter just as quickly as this one!! I hope you liked it!**

**-xx-**


	4. Three

_**Three**_

The sun shone through the leaves and touched my eyes. I woke up, confused by my surroundings. Then everything came back to me in a flash. As soon as I remembered where I was, I sat up, stretched, got out of the bushes and walked to the sea. The storm had calmed down and along the shore I saw pieces of driftwood. The remnants of my boat were splintered pieces of wood, which wouldn't stand out here. This was great news; no one would find me now. I took up my bag and wandered into the forest.

While walking, I remembered which day it was and I smiled to myself. I felt so free and light that I spontaneously started to sing. I practically danced through the forest. But I stopped when I neared a town. I stood still for a second, debating what I was going to do. I needed a disguise, some Fire Nation clothing. I had to settle in here unnoticed. Plus, I decided, I couldn't waterbend. It would be essential for my freedom to keep that a secret. I couldn't risk standing out, for my parents would soon be searching for me, even here. I would have to become someone else.

There was laundry hanging in someone's backyard. Without thinking I stealthily glanced around to make sure no one would see me. Then I took some money out of my bag and quickly ran into the yard. I took a few clothing items and left the money I had taken out of my bag on a table. Surely I wasn't stealing when I left money, right?

Back in the forest I changed into my new outfit: A dark crimson halter top and a pair of black, loose trousers. I'd also taken a pair of crimson slippers. I put my Water Tribe clothing in my bag, deciding I'd lose it somewhere else later on. As last, I felt at my necklace. It had been the engagement necklace of my great-grandmother Kana. It had become a tradition in our family to hand it down from mother to daughter. I had received it when I was twelve, on the day I 'became a woman'. I hesitated to take it of. This was the one thing I did _not_ want to lose. Somehow, this necklace had always brought me comfort. I debated in silence, before I took it off. I didn't want to, but for now it was necessary. I would buy a Fire Nation necklace to hide it under later on. In that way, I could wear it without it being noticed. Until I found a necklace to hide it under, I'd have to comfort myself with my newfound freedom. Which seemed quite enough for the moment.

I tied my short hair up, Fire Nation style, and went into town. I dumped the bag with my clothing in a dumpster. Now my only luggage was a small black bag with water, my necklace and my money. I was ready.

I walked further into the town. It was a small village and the most important part seemed to be the little harbor. There were some shops here and a bank. I went to the bank first.

It was empty, except for one short, plump man behind the counter. He was quite old, his grey hair tied up in a topknot, and he had a warm, friendly face. He smiled at me when I entered and I smiled back. 'Hello, my dear, what can I do to help you?' he asked me. 'Well,' I walked over to him, 'I was wondering if I could trade Water Tribe money for Fire Nation money here.' He nodded. 'Of course, of course! How much do you want to trade?' I emptied my purse on the counter. It was quite a lot of money, but the old man didn't look concerned or suspicious. The started to count the money. 'So, you're here for the festival? Traveling to the Capital I guess? We've already had many foreign visitors…' 'Festival?' I asked? He nodded. 'Yes, yes! Have you forgotten what day it is, miss?' Of course I hadn't forgotten the day, how could I? 'The Summer Solstice Festival in the Capital tonight.' He continued. 'Oh yes,' I said, playing along. 'Yes, I'm heading there. Actually, do you know if there's a way I can travel there faster than by foot?' He nodded again. 'Yes, my brother Li Tan is going over there tonight. He needs to deliver fish. I'm sure he'll give you a ride. He's probably down at the docks, just mention my name, Shi Wan.' After saying this, he handed me my money. I put it in my bag. 'There you go miss…?' he asked. I froze. I hadn't thought of a name! Quickly, I spit out the first name that popped into my head. 'Yue. A. Err, I'm Yuea.' Shi Wan smiled. 'Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Yuea.' 'The pleasure was all mine mister Wan. And thank you so much for your help!' With this, I turned and walked out of the bank.

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**Hey guys!**

**Finally, an update. I've been so busy with school I couldn't find the time to update! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting! However, to make up for it, here was chapter 3 and chapter 4 will be updated only 5 min after:)**

**Hope you liked it PLEASE review!  
LY, -xx- Cee**


	5. Four

_**Four**_

Shi Wan had been right. I did find his brother at the docks. Li Tan was hard to miss, in fact. He looked just like his brother; grey, round and he had a booming laugh you could hear from miles away. He was a pleasant fellow and he had no trouble at all giving me a ride. I got a seat right next to him on the front of the cart. The cart smelled heavily of fish and it was a good two hours drive to the Capital. Luckily, I got distraction from Li Tan.

Li Tan told me dozens of stories about his years as a soldier in the Great War, his family and his fish business. He was a very sweet and funny man I soon discovered and we had a lot of fun together. He was old though, and at some point he stated repeating the stories. This gave me some time to think, and set up a plan. I had to come up with a proper Fire Nation name. This had me brainstorming for a while, until I remembered a story uncle Aang had once told me. About him secretly pretending to be a student of a Fire Nation school one time during the War. He'd met a very nice girl there, named Onji. And I had found my name. I would change it a bit though, just in case. I would name myself Angie.

We were nearing the Capital's harbour and had to get aboard a pond. There's no other way into the city. While we were on the boat I decided I wouldn't stay in the Capital long. This was the biggest and most important city in the Fire Nation. Once the word about my escape got round, this would be the first place in the Fire Nation where they would look for me. Tomorrow, after the Festival, I'd be gone. It would just be a nice starting point.

Then, I caught my first sight of the magnificent volcano which housed the Capital. It was located on a beautiful spot, and over the years, forests had grown around it, making it a wonderful sight. It was stunning. First the harbour, with a few of the battleships and dozens of little fishing boats, then rows and rows of white houses, on what had once been the industrial area. Firelord Zuko had changed Harbour City into a beautiful pre-city. Common citizens were not allowed into the crater, so the Firelord had built a beautiful city for them here. Then, rising above the houses was the plaza, and behind that started the road up the volcano to the Capital. I stared intently and caught a glimpse of the beautiful palace.

I gazed at the view, amazed. Never in my life had I seen such beauty, or such riches as in the Fire Nation Capital. Li Tan smiled when he saw my face. We docked soon after my first sight. Here, Li Tan and I parted. 'Well miss, it's been a pleasant journey with you!' he said. 'It certainly has!' I smiled. 'And thank you so much, sir. Is there sure no way I can repay you?' He had refused all my offers to repay him so far, and did now as well. He shook his head. 'Travelling alone can be so dreadful, miss! I'm glad you were with me. I should be thanking you rather than the other way around.' I smiled at him again and thanked him. At this, we parted. I walked up the docks in the direction of the shops. I hadn't eaten anything since that morning and was pretty hungry now. As I strolled along the shops I noticed that everyone was wearing something special. All the people wore something wit the symbol of the sun, jewellery, hats, robes, masks. And all the shops were decorated with suns.

I got to a square surrounded by shops. In the middle of the square was a stage where firebenders were performing their arts. Along the square were restaurants. I found one which sold typical Fire Nation dishes and tried a Fire Cake. It tasted very nice, though it was a bit too spicy for me.

I went to sit on a wall and watched the square. Apart from the stage, there were children playing games and street musicians and entertainers. The air was warm and everyone was in a good mood. It was fun to watch all the people enjoy themselves.

After I finished eating I got up and walked closer to the stage. My mother had once told me about a very important lesson she'd learned from Firelord Zuko and Prince Iroh. It was the lesson that all the elements are part of one whole, one world and that, just like the Avatar, when you study the other elements you can get stronger by using their moves in your bending. I had never seen other forms of bending before – I had even never seen uncle Aang use any form of bending besides waterbending. I'd lived isolated in the South Pole my whole life. This was something new and exciting, and it was as if I was hypnotised. I watched carefully, printing every move in my memory. I would try them later with waterbending. If I could find a save spot, that is. Otherwise I could learn a lot from just copying the moves without bending.

The sun had set in by the time the firebenders finished their demonstration and the sky was now a dark blue with red spots from all the fire in the city. Candles and lanterns were lit everywhere in the city. I spun around and gazed at the square and the people, who had now dressed up even fancier than before. I decided I wanted some decoration, too, and remembered I still had to find a necklace. I strolled through the streets, looking at the stands and the shops. I stopped in front of a very tiny stand. The sign above it read: '_Hand made jewellery; Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes and Air Temple specialities!_' Behind the stand sat an elderly woman. She didn't look very rich and seemed quite lonely there behind the stand. I approached it. The old lady smiled up to me. 'Good evening young lady.' She said. I smiled back, somehow already liking the woman. 'Good evening Ma'am. Your jewellery is beautiful!' and it was. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, rings, she had it all. And all were decorated with the prettiest gems, beads, pearls and mother of pearls I had ever seen. 'Are you looking for anything specific?' she asked. 'Well, ehm…' I hesitated, not quite sure how to describe what I needed. 'I was actually looking for a necklace… a broad choker.' She eyed me for a moment. Then she mumbled in a mysterious voice. 'A secret necklace for a secret girl…' This confused me. What did she meat? Then, she spoke again. 'Hmm, I do have something that would be perfect for you.' She fumbled with a few boxes under the table. Then, she showed me a most beautiful necklace. The band was dark, crimson red, broad enough to cover my mother's necklace. Along the rim were tiny drops of sapphires, which continued to grow in size along the length of the necklace until they reached the pendant: a sapphire teardrop, about 1 by 2 cm. I gasped. The lady had been right. 'It's perfect.' I said. I touched the necklace carefully and tried it on. It fit me perfectly and I admired it in the mirror for a minute. The sapphires were the exact same shade as my eyes and the crimson band complimented my skin tone. The woman sighed. 'It looks wonderfully on you. Unfortunately I have promised it to a young man this morning. But he never showed up here again. So you know what, you can buy it!' she smiled hugely at me. 'Thank you very much.' I said and took out my money. 'Stooooooooooooop!' someone shouted. I turned around, but only saw a blur of red and black before I was knocked into the ground by someone.

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**Now we're finally getting started. You don't want to miss the next chapter! I'll update a.s.a.p. promise!**

**Hope you liked it, R&R!  
-xx- Cee**


	6. Five

**_Five_**

I expected to feel the Stone pavement, but instead i felt two strong, warm hands catching me just in time. When I stood upright again, I found myself looking at someone's throat. 'I'm so sorry.' I heard a voice say. It was the voice of a young man. Dark, warm and fresh. I looked up and stared into a pair of breathtaking golden eyes.

'I'm sorry.' The man holding me said again. 'I didn't mean to bump into you like that. It's just… well…' he released my arms. Another man, older than the one who'd caught me – who didn't seem older than 20 – joined us. The old lady pointed at him.

'You're too late! You didn't show up! Now your precious necklace is for someone else.' I looked at her. 'Oh…' I started, but stopped. Now the young man spoke, 'I'm sorry ma'am. Rijoul here had reserved it for me. I've been looking for this precise necklace all day, but had to attend some business. My apologies, I didn't mean to put you through all that trouble. I'm sorry miss,' he bowed his head to me now, 'I can see that I'm too late. Besides, it matches perfectly with your eyes.' He turned around and walked away.

'Wait!' I called after him. He stopped and looked at me, over his shoulder. 'It's okay, I'll find something else.' He shook his head. 'Really, no. It's not my place.' 'Please sir. I saw it in your eyes. Apparently this necklace means a lot to you, especially since you've been looking so desperately for it. Please, take it.'

He was standing near me again and I put the necklace in his hands. He started at it for a moment and then at me, a slight frown on his face. 'Are you sure?' I smiled. Somehow, I felt he needed this. 'Yes.' And then he smiled back. 'Thank you, please, can I buy you another necklace? I can't just let you walk away without a prober thank you.' He started, but I was already shaking my head. 'No sir, thank you, but I'll be fine. Have a nice evening.' I winked. Then, I looked at the elderly lady. 'Thank you for everything ma'am.' 'Don't worry, it belongs to you, it'll find its way back.' Was her reply. I smiled vaguely, confused by her words. While the young man paid the necklace, I left, quickly disappearing through the crowd. When he looked up, I'd be gone.

I was at the Royal Plaza, now. It was already late and I was eating my dinner. I sat on a patch of grass, watching all the people. Absentmindedly, I stroked my new necklace which lay next to me. I hadn't put it on yet. I'd wanted to put on my mother's necklace underneath it first, but I hadn't had the chance to do it yet.

This necklace was less fancy than the other one, but nonetheless very pretty. It was a simple red ribbon, ending in a curve, with one simple crystal on it.

Suddenly, I was disrupted from my thoughts by the sound of a tsungi horn. A whole band appeared, marching in front of a parade. There were a lot of instruments, and – apart from the tsungi horn – I only recognized the pipa. The music was wonderful, as was the parade.

Masked dancers, firebenders, actors and more entertainers walked by. In the middle of the parade was a grand cart with the Royal family. I gasped silently as the faces from my mother's tales rode by. There, on top, was the powerful Firelord Zuko. He was looking so majestic in his chair, I gazed up in awe, while everywhere around me, the people cheered.

I walked up closer to the front of the crowd, while the cart came to a halt. I realized it was stationed opposite to the stage, so something must have been happening there. Everyone turned around to face the stage, where, apparently, the show had begun. But somehow, I couldn't make myself turn, my gaze still on the Firelord's face. There was something familiar about him.

I shook it off and now looked at the Firelady, Mai. She had a serene, slightly bored expression on her pretty, porcelain face. On Zuko's other side was an old, pleasant looking man. He had a belly as huge as his grin, though I knew the wise Prince Iroh, Dragon of the West, had once been one of the strongest men alive. Next to him, smiling softly, was his wife, Princess Ursa. I knew that she was Zuko's mother and that she had originally been married to Ozai. However, after Ozai's defeat she had returned from het secret banishment and married Iroh. She looked happy now, next to Iroh. I let my gaze shift to the newest additions of the family; the young Prince Geoi was wobbling on his seat, having too much energy to watch the show. And next to him…

I gasped out loud, putting my hand over my mouth. How could I not have seen this sooner? He was the spitting image of his father. Crown Prince Aeiroh, the man who'd bumped into me, the man from the necklace. And after I'd gasped so loud, he was staring right at me!

I turned around as quick as possible, making my way through the crowd into some dark alleyway. Just before I went in, I looked over my shoulder. The Prince had apparently excused himself and was now hot on my trail! I turned around and ran. I turned corner after corner, deep into the dark maze of the city's streets, until I was sure I was alone.

I put my hands on my knees and rested for a bit. Why had I run from him? Was it because he was the prince. I shook my head. I didn't know what it was, but there was something about him that made me feel strange. I had to stay away form him. Being close to some of my mother's old companions would be the stupidest thing to do. I'd be found in no time, for sure.

I pushed my hair out of my face as I looked around. Where on Earth was I? I started to walk along the street, searching for some point I recognized. 'Hello dear.' I froze, but realized it wasn't the prince's voice. I relaxed and spun around, facing a dark man. Then, our of nowhere, two other men appeared, one behind me, and one next to the first. They all had an evil smile on their faces.

'What's a pretty girl like you doing out here at this time?'

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**So this was it again for chapter 5. I know, they're not very long, I'll try to do my best, but it just fits better this way. Look at it positively, the story is already set, now, there are just the more chapters, yay!:)  
As always, I hoped you enjoy it and R&R!**

**-xx-**


	7. Six

**_Six_**

I tensed, automatically falling into my waterbending stance. 'Leave me alone.' I said, trying not to let my voice betray my fear. They just laughed and came closer. 'What's wrong sweetie? You don't have to be afraid of us.' The dark one said again. I was preparing to draw water, but all three of them had lit a fireball in their hands. I had never encountered firebenders before and had no clue how to fight them.

They kept coming closer and closer, circling around me. The dark one spoke again. 'It's alright sweetie, just don't be difficult.' He laughed and lifted his arm. He thrust his fiery hand at me. I raised my arms to protect my face when, suddenly, a bolt of lightening shot past me.

All of us looked up. There, on the roof, was the Fireprince, a dangerous look on his face. 'Stay away from her.' He said, his voice sounded like acid now, low and threatening. He jumped off the roof, throwing fireballs at the men. The dark one dodged them, but the other two fled. The prince and the dark man now stood face to face. He waited, silently.

Then the man also struck lightening. The prince reacted quickly, while I gasped, thinking he'd be hit. But he redirected the lightening to the man. The man jumped out of the way, missing it by an inch. He turned and ran, charged by a few extra fireballs from the prince while he fled the scene.

It was quiet for a moment as the prince stared after him, still tense. Then, he turned to me, a cautious look on his face. 'You okay?' he asked. I stared at him dumbfounded, unable to move or even make a sound. 'Did they hurt you?' he asked again, now standing very close to me. At his, I collapsed, harsh, heaving sobs coming from my chest. His strong arms caught me for the second time that day, and he held me, pressed closed to his body. 'Shhhhhh…' he murmured, 'It's okay.' And he stroked my hair as I cried out my shock.

'So why did you run from me?' he asked. It was almost midnight now, and we were waiting for the fireworks to begin.

After I'd cried, he'd taken me here, to the palace. All the way he'd been chatting and making jokes and, slowly, I'd calmed down. We'd had a lot of fun, but now his voice was serious. It sounded almost hurt, but I couldn't be sure, because his face was turned away from me.

I sighed. 'I was just shocked to find out you were the Prince.' I said. He turned his face to me and smiled lightly. 'Yeah, I guess that must have been some surprise.' He said. I smiled back at him. 'So why did you pursue?' He frowned lightly. 'It's a weird story actually… it has to do with the necklace.' I looked at him, bursting with curiosity. 'Will you tell me?' He nodded. 'This morning, I woke up from a very strange dream. In the dream I was Firelord, and it was Summer Solcistes, only now, somehow the festival had another meaning to it, as if there was something more to celebrate. Though, in my dream, I wasn't quite sure whether now it would be to celebrate or to mourn. I had searched everywhere for something, but hadn't found it. And if I didn't find it that night, it would be too late. So in my dream, I'd spent all day looking. At night, just before the fireworks, I returned here. I'd given up all hope, but suddenly, it was there. It was a dark figure, still vague in my dream, though now I've found out who it must have been. The figure was wearing this necklace.'

'When I woke up this morning, I felt like I had to find the necklace, so I could find out who the figure was. I set out to find it, sure it would help me solve the mystery of my dream. And it did…' He looked at me now, his intense gaze fixed on my own eyes. 'It lead me to you. You were the figure in my dream.' 'What? But how… why?' I asked, trying to grasp what he'd just said. 'I don't know.' He shook his head. 'But I do know that this necklace, this dream, has lead me to you. So somehow, I think, we're meant to be… friends, I guess.' I looked up at him. 'I'd like to be friends.' I said softly. He smiled, then felt for something in his pocket.

'I have something for you,' he said, 'close your eyes.' Obediently I closed my eyes, curious for the surprise. Suddenly, I felt his arms next to my ears and then I felt something being tied to my neck… a necklace. 'Open your eyes.' I opened them and gasped. 'The old lady was right, it would come back to you.' In the mirror he held in front of me I saw my reflection. My reflection was wearing the necklace.

'Oh… I… I don't know what to say.' I stuttered. He just shrugged. 'It's nothing.' Then, I practically flew at him, pulling him into a hug. 'Thank you.' I whispered. He said nothing back, but I could feel him smile in my hair. At that moment, the fireworks started. We pulled out of our hug to look at them. It was amazing, the fireworks were beautiful.

As we stood there silently, watching the fireworks – me leaning my head against his shoulder, him with his arm wrapped around my waist – I felt completely happy. This had been the best birthday ever. Happy sixteenth, I silently congratulated myself. And at that moment, I didn't think of fleeing, I didn't fear being discovered. I didn't even think about my family at all.

I only felt safe, and happy, standing there next to the Fireprince.

* * *

**Finally, some sparks! Don't you just looove romantic stories?  
This is another short chapter, but from now on, I'll update them per 2 chapters, so even though the chapter in itself is short, you won't have nothing to read;)  
Hope you liked it, R&R!**

**ly, -xx- Cee**


	8. Seven

_**Seven**_

That morning I woke up in a huge, soft bed. I streched and slid the red silken sheets off me. I looked around the room that I was in. It was large and adorned with lots of red and gold. A bit too much for my taste, but there were some delicate decorations I could appreciate. I got out of bed and my feet sunk into the thick red carpet. It felt very soft. Walking around the room I thought about everything that happened to me yesterday. _How could so much have happened in such a short time?_ I wondered. On the wall on the room hung several pictures of landscapes. In the middle, though, there was a painting of the royal family. It wasn't made very long ago, becaus Aeiroh looked a lot like he did now. This made me stop. What was I to do? I knew I couldn't stay here long, if I wanted to keep my newfound freedom I shouldn't be in the middle of all my mother's old friends.

Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. 'Hello?' a voice asked. 'Can I come in?' It was Aeiroh, of course. I opened the door. He was there, smiling, and I smiled back. 'Good morning.' I said. He came in, 'Good morning. Have you slept well?' I nodded, 'Very well, this bed is amazing.' He chuckled. 'I know, I have one excactly the same. They're filled with water, you know.' Since I was a waterbender, of course I had already figured this out, but I still acted surprised. 'Really? No kidding... that explains it all.' I smiled. 'Anyway, it's almost time for breakfast, my family would like to meet you.' He said. 'What?' I was... well, shocked that they already knew of me, and wanted to _meet_ me. 'But, but... But don't you think I'm a little underdressed?' I said, all nervous now. He laughed at that and winked. 'Don't worry, there's clothes enough for you. Don't be nervous. Why don't you take a nice shower, get dressed and I'll pick you up in half an hour. You can find clothes here.' He took me by my arm and guided me to a door. He opened it, and I gasped. It was a huge closet, filled with women's robes, shoes, dresses, pants and even underwear. 'How do you get all this?' I asked him in wonder. Aeiroh merely shrugged. 'We always keep clothes, just in case people need to stay here. The Royal Family must be prepared for everything.' He grinned. 'Well, I'll be here again in thirty minutes, okay?' I just nodded and looked at the clothes again. They were mainly red, but there was also some pink, white and black. I searched for the right size and picked out a soft pink robe, with white pants and underrobes. I grabbed some underwear and locked myself in the bathroom.

It was a grand room, with a soft red floor and white walls. There were 2 white sinks and the wall they were attached to was a huge mirror. The bath in the corner was also huge. Next to me was the shower. This one seemed normal, at least. I opened the round doors and stepped in. The floor in the shower was white marble and the tap was made of gold. I was amazed at how much grandure there was to find in this palace. Our palace was beautiful and majestic as well, but it was nothing next to the Fire Nation's.

I showered for quite some time, reveling in the hot water. I didn't bend anything, though, just in case. Though for now, just being in the shower for so long was enough. When I got out of the shower I took one of the large red towels that lay there. It was a thick and fluffy towel and my skind glowed when I had rubbed myself dry. Because my hair was short it dried very quickly, to my statisfaction. When I'd gotten dressed I put up my hair and went to find some shoes in the closet. I picked out a pair of very sweet white flats, with very fine roses sewn along the rim. I'd just put them on when Aeiroh knocked on the door. 'Ready?' he asked. I took a deep breath and nodded. 'Ready.'

We walked close together, our hands almost touching, but not quite. The halls were large, high and statesque. Everywhere there were paintings and a few times we passed a servant or a guard, who bowed for us as soon as we passed by. After a few of them had bowed to us the prince smiled at me, apoligetically. 'I'm sorry, this must be very weird to you. I hate it when they bow to me all the time, but it's Fire Nation etiquette.' 'I understand.' And I did. At home, we had the same etiquette. I couldn't stand it, but I'd never really had a choice.

After walking through a maze of halls we finally arrived at the breakfastroom. I'm not kidding you, there really was a room especially for having breakfast. Aeiroh explained to me that Ozai had had that installed. His family, however, used it for all meals and they mostly called it just the diningroom.

I was a bit hesitant as we entered. The entire family was already seated. Partly shy, and party afraid they would recognize me, I entered, my head bowed, but my eyes studying all their faces. At the head of the table was the Fire Lord, on his right hand, his wife and on his left his uncle. Next to Iroh was his wife Ursa and next to her was prince Geoi. There were two empty seats next to the Fire Lady for Aeiroh and me. I was introduced to everyone, and they were very kind. I especially took a linking to Lady Ursa. She was a very beautiful woman. Even though she must have been quite old, her hair was still completely jet black. Her eyes were bright gold, and were very warm. She barely had wrinkles, apart from those around her mouth and eyes from laughing. She spoke to me all through breakfast, I asked her everything about her life, and she just told me. She also asked me questions, and I answered them, though sometimes altering some bits that could betray me and never telling the actual names of my parents. That was hard, having to lie to such a kind woman about who I was. But I knew I had no choice.

The Fire Lord was very kind, and listened to my stories as well. He told some himself when I asked him, and so I heard the story of him and my mother fighting against Azula from a different perspective. I had heard it a million times before, of course, and had always been amazed at how brave Lord Zuko had been, throwing himself in front of Azula's lightening to save my mother. I gasped softly when he told it me himself. It sounded much more painful. I had always wondered what had made him jump for my mother and now, I simply asked him. 'Because she was my friend.' He said, looking surprised. 'But she'd only accepted you so shortly before, and you barely knew her. Though you almost gave your life to save her.' They all looked at me. 'How do you know that?' Lady Mai asked. I wanted to hit myself for my head at that moment, and I almost did. However, I got my act together and shrugged. 'I've heard the stories.' This seemed to work. Zuko continued. 'We went to the Southern Raiders together. We found the man who had killed her mother.' I flinched at this, though I covered it up quickly. 'That creates a bond. She had become a really good friend. So yes, she was very much worth saving, even if that would have cost me my life.' I nodded, though I couldn't quite understand. I had never know something like that ever. Maybe it was only in times of war that these things happened, I figured. Or maybe I never had a real friend before. After this, the conversation changed to another topic, though I was more silent than before. At the end of breakfast, the Fire Lord invited me to stay here as long as I'd liked to. 'I think your stay here will be a pleasure for all of us. If you ever need anything, you can just ask.' Then everyone pretty much scattered, leaving Aeiroh, Geoi and me alone in the room.

Geoi had been very calm during dinner, but now he exploded with energy, and questions. He practically jumped around me, while bombing me with questions. 'So how did you and Aeiroh meet? Did you like your room? I love the fireworks, don't you? Have you seen the firedancers during the festival yesterday? What do you think of the city? Were you really born on the countryside? What's your favourite colour? How did you get these blue eyes? What's your favourite flower? Are you more a winter or a summer person?' and on and on and on. At some point Aeiroh interrupted, laughing. 'Relax Geoi, you're not even giving her any time to answer!' He winked at me. 'I have an idea, let's go to town, then you can ask her everything, and she'll have time to answer them, okay?' 'Yess! I'll get my money.' Geoi shouted and he ran off. Aeiroh turned to me. 'He can be a bit overexcited sometimes.' I laughed. 'He's very sweet. How old is he again?' 'He's ten, almost eleven. You know, I don't even know how old you are.' 'I'm sixteen.' I told him. 'So, where will we be going excactly?' 'That depends, do you want to walk or take the carriage.' 'I'm more of a walking person.' I knew from own experience that going by carriage is mostly annoying, because everyone notices you as royalty passing by. 'God, I'd better prepare myself for all those questions.' I joked. 'I'll be listening closely to hear the answers.' He assured me. I smiled and he smiled back. 'Because I'm quite curious.' 'You know, it isn't fair that I have to answer all the questions.' I said. 'You know what, tomorrow, you can ask me.' He told me. 'Deal.' And we shook hands, just as Geoi came back in. 'Ready to go?' 'Yes, let's go.' Aeiroh said. He took my arm again and lead me to the door. I was excited to see town, though I was nervous. _Please don't let them discover me._ I prayed silently when we took off.

Town was actually quite nice, even with all the questions. They were mostly things like what my favourites were. My favourite flower (white lilies), food (I really enjoyed the fireflakes, though I like fish best), colour (gold and dark blue, like the night sky), musical instrument (voice, I love singing) and smell (the smell of the air after a thunderstorm). I got off really well. We bought a few things in town. I had my own money with me, but Aeiroh insisted on him buying everything for me. So I didn't buy much. I did sneak off at some point to buy a robe I'd seen. He didn't notice it, thankfully. It might have hurt his feelings. I just didn't feel comfortable with him buying me everything. We ate fireflakes and went back to the palace with the twilight. We had dinner with Geoi, Aeiroh, Iroh, Ursa and I – the Fire Lord and Lady were still in a meeting – and we ate till late. It was much fun. After dinner, though, we went to bed. It was very early for me, waterbenders usually stay up most of the night, but I was very tired from the day and fell asleep quickly, in the soft sheets on my Fire Nation waterbed.

* * *

**So here was finally a new chapter!! It's still not as long as I'd with it was but it just makes more sense i this way, for me. So I promise I'll update more, even though my chapters will still be quite short. i hope that's okay and that everyone's had a great Christmas this year;)**

**-xx-**


	9. Eight

_**Eight**_

And that's how life continued for the weeks that followed. Every morning we would have breakfast with the family. Sometimes the Fire Lord had a meeting and had to miss it. After breakfast Aeiroh and I would go to town, stroll through the palace gardens or sit in the library and talk for hours. Of course Aeiroh had his lessons and the state to attend to and during those times I discovered the secrets of the palace or I went to town with Geoi or Prince Iroh.

Of course they had questions for me, too. During the first breakfast I'd had with them, they'd let me ask them, to set me at ease, but they wanted to know my story as well. I hated lying, but there was no other way. Leaving was not an option anymore, not now anyway. The news of my dissappearance had reached them, but no one had expected me to be in the Fire Nation so no one actively searched for me here. Especially in the Royal Palace with some of my mother's closest friends. There was, however, another reason for me not to go. Somehow, a bond had formed between Aeiroh and me that first day. It was something I couldn't quite describe, but I found myself telling him things I'd never told anyone. Thoughts, opinions, I told him everything. Everything but the truth about myself.

I'd had to change a lot of facts, but I tried to lie as little as possible. This was no easy task. I had come up with the story that my name was Angie Sowat. Sowat was for Southern Water Tribe. I was 16 years old (this was the truth, at least) and I had been born in a little village in the Fire Nation, called Kuoi. It was quite far from the Capitol, and it wasn't very remarkable in any way, so there had never been paid much attention to by the Fire Lord. My parents were kalled Kala and Nugato Sowat. My mother was a bender (true), a firebender and she was born in Kuoi (not true). My father was also a bender (true), but he was an earthbender from Ba Sing Se (not true). When I was asked about my blue eyes I'd said that my great-grandmother (my mother's grandmother) had been from the Northern Water Tribe. (This was also true, though I didn't say a word about the necklace that she'd brought into our family.)

There were more things I'd changed though, because there were some things very wellknown about me that could make people suspicious. For example, everyone in the Southern Water Tribe knew that my favourite flower was the ice lily. Since A. I could have never seen ice lilies in my life before, being a small town Fire Nation girl and B. It was known that it was my favourite flower, I changed it to a fire lily. This was the same for my favourite smell, which was the smell of the air after a snowstorm. I'd changed this to the air after a thunderstorm. My favourite colour (purple) became red and my favourite activity became swimming, instead of penguin sledding. There were some things that changed on its own, though. After I'd tasted the Fire Flakes, they became my favourite food and my favourite object became the necklace I'd gotten from Aeiroh.

Normally, I wouldn't have thought out this much details, but during the times we were alone he asked me everything, and I asked him. I'd gotten to know every single detail about him. His favourite time of the day (morning), drink (hot chocolate), flower (night flowers and fire lilies), smell (the ocean), person (his father), colour (night blue), food (also fire flakes), object (Avatar Roku's hairpiece, which he had gotten from his father when he turned 16) season (summer), place, everything. The last one was very special to him. There was a duck pond in the garden of the Royal Palace. It was his father's favourite place, Aeiroh told me, and he always took him there. And so it had also become his favourite place, where he went to to think, meditate, practice or just feed the ducks and talk with his dad. It held special memories to him. We hung out at the pond a lot and soon it held special memories for me as well.

As much as I loved being around Aeiroh and with his kind and loving family, I hated the fact that I couldn't waterbend, even more than the fact that I had to lie to them. Waterbending was like a second nature to me, I felt naked without it. One day, I spotted Aeiroh practicing his bending at the pond. I was on a hill somewhere further off, and I was covered by a few trees. Seeing him bend changed something in it. _To hell with it._ I thought. _The fact that I can't bend doesn't mean that I can't practice moves so I can use them with my bending later._ I had already heard of using other bending forms in your own, and I decided just to copy what Aeiroh did. When I would get the chance to bend again, I could transform these moves to waterbending moves. I took the stance he had, legs apart, firmly on the ground, shoulders squared and arms low. The stance I got, but the movements were something else entirely. Firebending was unpredictable, swift, with hard stabs and quick shots. Waterbending is graceful, flowing and it seems like dancing, every move flows into another. It was so hard for me to copy the moves and I just couldn't seem to get them.

I shouted in frustration when I couldn't copy yet another move. This gave me away. Aeiroh looked up to where I was and walked over. I'd put my hand in front of my mouth in shock, but it was too late, Aeiroh had already found me. 'What are you doing here?' he asked, not sounding angry at all. Just confused. I decided to be honest – I tried to be as much as I could, anyway. 'I tried to copy your moves, so I'd... you know, so I'd be able to defend myself with them.' I had to blush and looked down. I'd also told everyone I couldn't bend, naturally. 'So you're trying to do some marshall arts, why hadn't you said so before?' I looked up as he spoke to me, confused. 'What do you mean?' 'Well, I get that you want to be able to protect yourself, especially after that incident on the Summer Solcistes. And I agree that firebending – or any kind of bending – is also very useful as a marshall art. But if you want to learn it, why didn't you just ask me to teach you?' I was stunned. He wanted to teach me firebending? That would be... great!

I told him I had only though of it just then, and he nodded. 'Okay, next time you get such a brilliant idea, just come to me, deal?' he looked at me sternly. 'Yes.' I said, and smiled. 'Well, let's go, it's almost dinner time and you should be in bed early tonight.' He took me by my arm and guided me into the Palace. 'Why?' I asked. 'Well, I've noticed that you're not much of a morning person, so you need to get to bed early tonight so you can rise early tomorrow.' 'Why do I have to rise early tomorow?' I raised my eyebrows, and he grinned misschievously at me. 'Because you're firebending practice starts at sunrise.' I stopped walking. 'Sunrise?' 'Yes, we're firebenders, remember? We rise with the sun. So if you want to be a firebender – withouth the fire – you're going to have to rise with the sun, too.

* * *

**Well guys, another chaper, updated a lot sooner than the last one, thankfully. I'm finally getting more writing time so I'll get things done much sooner. Hope you liked it and Happy New Year to all of you!!:D  
-xx-**


	10. Nine

_**Nine**_

'The first step in firebending is breathing.' The sentence repeated itself over and over through my head. I had breathed the whole day, and now we had finally begun with some basic moves, but I still couldn't grasp it. Aeiroh sighed and shook his head. 'This isn't going to work... I've never seen someone struggle so hard with firebending. You need to feel it, Angie.' He grasped my hands. 'You have to feel the Sun, the energy, the life it gives you.' I breathed in deeply, feeling the sunrays on my face. They were warm, but they didn't give me energy. Water gave me energy, so how could the Sun do the same?

We had been practicing all day with only a small break to eat and drink something around noon. Now, the Sun was already starting to go down. Aeiroh had said that it had been enough for the day and we should try again tomorrow, but I wanted to get it and I'd talked him into going on for just a little while longer. And another little while, and another.

Now, he said down, exasperated. 'I just don't get it...' he said. 'It's so natural, how can you not feel it? The Sun, it's our life energy within us, but somehow you can't understand it.' He seemed so frustrated. I kneeled beside him and took his hand. 'Then why don't you explain?' My voice was calm, soothing. I didn't want him to feel like a bad teacher. I was – as a waterbender – probably the worst student he could ever get. Yet I wanted to understand the Fire Nation, its people and its element and I figured that maybe I could, if I knew the whole story.

We settled down under the tree near the duck pond and Aeiroh started. 'The history of firebending goes back thousands of years. We draw our power and energy from the Sun, which represents harmony and life, just like firebending.' He stopped for a second. 'You see, fire is energy, it warms, lights and gives life. We can't live without it. The Sun fuels our energy inside, and firebenders use this energy to create fire. We learned this from the dragons. The first people to do this were the Sun Warriors.' I'd heard about the Sun Warriors before, but I was eager for him to continue.

'How did they do that?' 'They looked at the dragons in the same way as waterbenders looked at the moon, and from the dragons they learned how to create, control and so use fire. The best firebenders used to make a sport out of it to conquer a dragon, the true masters of fire, to show their power. There were only few dragons left, when it was said that my grandfather, Iroh, had slayed the last one. However, my father discovered that this wasn't true, when he visited the Sun Warriors in the War with the Avatar.' I nodded, I knew this story. 'Here, he not only discovered that the Sun Warriors were still alive, but so were the dragons, the last two. They showed him the true meaning of firebending.' He stared in front of him. 'One day, I'll go there, too, and maybe they will show me.' I looked at him. He seemed so... full of conviction that one day he would be shown. So full of hope that he would get to _see_ the true meaning of firebending.

He dreamed on for a little while more and then spoke again. 'Fire is, as I said, life. But it's only part of it. All the elements together make life. Apart they won't do that, though apart they are all essential for life. My grandfather once explained this to me. It's a bit like what the Avatar does, but it can make you stronger.' I had heard this before, it was what made me try 'firebending' in the first place. But I didn't say a word, curious for what he would tell me.

The first thing he did was take a stick and draw the symbols of the four elements with it. 'This is how my grandfather explained my father and later me.' He pointed to the symbol of Earth. 'Earth is steady and tough. The people of the Earth Kingdom are enduring and symbolize diversity. Earthbenders are strong but gentle. This is also how they fight.'

'Air,' he now pointed at the symbol of the air nomads, 'is light and peaceful. The element is soft but can take you down just as hard as Earth, it's natural opposite. The Air monks and nuns are free from worldly concerns. They are harmonious.'

'Water,' he moved his stick to the sign of water, the same sign as was carved into my mother's necklace. I held my breath. 'is soothing. The people from the Watertribes are caring and symbolize family and love. But they can ignite just like fire, and have moves with their water that can take the toughest men down. Waterbenders are like their element; adaptive.'

He pointed to the symbol of fire now. This is what I was most curious about. I grew absolutely still, not moving an inch. 'Fire symbolizes power and desire. But there's more to it. Like water it has one good side, energy and warmth. But it also has a bad side, and that is destruction. Fire is hard to control, even for firebenders. It's unpredictable and very easily crosses the line from warmth to destruction. Firebenders are intense and passionate.'

He threw a fireball over the water and lit it up. 'But when all elements work together, they form life.' He added lastly. And suddenly I could see it. The fire touched the water, two elements against each other, just like the earth and air that surrounded it. They were all in harmony. And they were all we needed to live.

I looked deeper into the flame, clashing with the water. I could see the two opposites and suddenly I saw us, reflected into them. Aeiroh, his energy, his eyes, he was shown in the bright and warm light in front of us. And in the water, I could spot my own image. I stared at them for a minute. So different, yet so alike. And I understood. I could now see it. Aeiroh observed me for a minute after I had stood up and said: 'Let's try it again.' He got up as well. 'Okay, let's see what you've got.' He'd seen it, too.

We practiced until the sun went down. After my revelation I had understood all the moves, though of course I wasn't close to getting them perfect, but I was on my way. Aeiroh lay down in the grass. He grinned as I lay down beside him. 'I can't believe how you turned around. You did so great after the story.' I smiled at him, feeling like I radiated. 'I just understood suddenly... I can't really explain it.' 'Well, no matter what it was, you were fantastic.' He stood up and took a towel to wipe his face. He threw one to me, and after I wiped my face as well he helped me get up. We went inside, hungry and tired from all the exercise.

When we arrived in the dining room we discovered that the family had aldready dined. They hadn't want to disturb our training. So we went down to the kitchen where there were meals left for us. I liked the kitchen of the Palace. The Royal family didn't have a lot of staff, just the necessary guards and servants. Most of them were off in the evening. Only the cook, Miaji, was left. She was a big and friendly woman, who was always cheery. We sat down and she chattered away. Aeiroh was silent, as he usually was when he was tired. Though I had trained all day, I didn't feel sleepy. As a waterbender, I could do with much less sleep than a firebender, though I liked to lie in. I wasn't a morning person, but a night person. So, after we had eaten and I'd told Aeiroh goodnight I decided to take a bath.

Because I didn't waterbend anymore I had felt very disconnected from my element these past few weeks. The only times when I could feel close to it again was when I swam, showered or bathed. I locked the bathroom door and turned on the tap. While the water ran into the tub I studied the row of bottles standing on its edge. The bottles contained oils which the people of the Fire Nation apparently put in their bath. Until I'd first bathed there, I'd never heard of such a thing. In the Water Tribe we like our water pure and crystal clear. But I'd come to understand the use of them, and even like a few of the smells. It was really quite nice when you had trained all day and were sweaty to be able to relax in such a lovely smelling tub. I took the flask of my favourite smell, which was called: 'Young Lady'. It was a lovely combination of vanilla, honey, cinammon, carnation and rose – so I'd read on the label after I'd used it for the first time. And they were quite right with its name I thought. It was really a fresh, young but sophisticated smell. I put the oil in the water and switched off the tap.

I stepped into the water, sighing as my body touched the hot water. It was so comforting. While I bathed I thought about that day. It had been an extraordinary one. Mastering and _understanding_ fire had been very tough, but I had conquered it. It was the most difficult form of 'bending' I would ever learn, since fire was my natural opposite, but I had learnt. And one day, I would transfer the moves into my waterbending and become a true waterbending master. In my mind I already saw myself doing the moves I had learned and the ones I had seen Aeiroh do with water. I fantasized about the travels that I planned to make after I left here – though I avoided thinking about actually leaving the Capitol – and how I would learn all the different types of bending.

I sank away deeper in my tub, smiling. Today had been a great day.

* * *

**So here was Nine:) I hope you all liked it, I'm trying to update sooner to make up for the short chapters;)  
Just for the record; the smell for Kiara's bath oil smells the same way as Coco Chanel Mademoiselle. I translated 'mademoiselle' for the name of her bath oil.  
Please R&R!!  
-xx-**


	11. Ten

**_Ten_**

I had been with the Royal family for almost 5 months, and was completely settled in. Aeiroh had become my very best friend, and I had been improving much on my firebending. I didn't think too much about leaving anymore, but the times I thought of it, I became agitated. This was not a good place to stay, yet I couldn't make myself go. So I did what I always did: running from it and trying not to think about it at all.

The days had turned colder, and it was winter now. However, it was not even close to winter in the South Pole. While at home everything would be even icier and colder, with snowstorms all the time, here it was actually quite nice. When I first came here it was the hottest time of year. It had sometimes been unbearable. Now, in winter, it was actually a very nice temperature, and I could definitely get used to it.

As it had become winter, the Winter Solcistes was nearing soon. And, as I learned, so was Aeiroh's birthday. As it happened to be, those two were on the same day. He was exactly two and a half years older than me. It had amused me how he had been born on the Winter Solcistes – being a firebender and all – and I, as a waterbender, on the Summer Solcistes.

This year, Aeiroh would turn 19, so there would be a great party. The whole palace had been organizing the party for months. Aeiroh himself wasn't to excited about it. 'It's mostly a lot of the nobles and their families. The girls throw themselves over every powerful guy, the women only gossip, and the men drink too much.' He'd said. But, there were also a few fun things, like the good food and the dances. 'You will love it, I promise you.' 'Yes,' I said, 'but will you? It's your party after all.' He looked at me, his eyes intense, focused on mine. 'As long as you're there, I will have fun, don't worry.' We grinned at each other for a moment, before Prince Iroh and Princess Ursa had come to us. 'Aeiroh, the tailor is here for your fitting darling. You need to get your robes for the party ready.' 'Oh right,' Aeiroh stood up, 'are you coming?' He held his hand out for me. 'To your tailor?' I asked him. I was puzzled. 'Yes, don't you want a dress?' he grinned. _A dress.. I hadn't even thought about that!_ 'I get a dress?' he nodded. 'Awesome, what are we waiting for, then?' I took his hand practically dragged him inside.

The tailor was a very nice man named Orjio. He'd brought loads of fabrics, silk, satin, muslin, and many, many more, in all the colours you can think of. Aeiroh went to the fitting with the other tailor, Ishia (Orjio's wife), and he would help me with my dress. It would be designed from scratch! First, he asked me what colour I wanted. I looked through all the colours, and found some silk in the exact shade of Aeiroh's eyes. It was beautiful. Apparently Orji thought the same thing. 'Beautiful, beautiful, gold fit for a true noble woman. Now let's get the dress, shall we?' He clapped his hands in enthousiasm. I was put on a stool, while he draped fabric around me, and stuck pins in the dress-to-be. It would be a beautiful dress, with two broad shoulder straps and a v-neck. The skirt would be long and flowing, with a split on both sides. It was a bit on the sexy side, but then again, I was 16, and had never worn anything better than my parka. I was extremely curious for how it would turn out.

In the meanwhile, we'd gotten some news of trouble going on in the Fire Nation. One morning during breakfast, the Firelord came in and announced it. Apparently there were some rebels planning to overthrown the Firelord and then free his crazy sister, Princess Azula from the Boiling Rock prison. Security was increased, and the Firelord was over his head in meetings. Aeiroh joined him on a lot of them, trying to help as much as he could. However, at the same time he was increasing my firebending classes. He had become.. overly-protective for some reason, and very intent on me being able to protect myself. 'I just don't want you to get hurt.' Was the only thing he'd said about it.

So even though we were all excited for the party, things were pretty tense. We didn't hear much about the rebels anymore, and we were hoping that they wouldn't cause any more trouble…

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**Hey you guys!  
I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry I haven't updated for such a long time! This year's been really crappy for me, and I haven't had the inspiration for the story anymore. Anyway, I'm back!:D And I hope you like this chapter, even though it isn't much yet. ****But I promise you, the next one will be awesome! And I'll update asap!  
Love -xx-**


	12. Eleven

**_Eleven_**

Aeiroh's birthday had arrived. Servants were running around the beautifully decorated palace. Large banners were hanging from the walls. They were mostly his favourite colour, midnight blue, with the Fire Nation emblem on them. So were all the decorations. That morning at breakfast we had all given him our presents. It had taken me quite some time to figure out the perfect present. But in the end I found it..

I had been going through town, looking for the perfect gift, for months. But it wasn't until I went out with Princess Ursa until I found it, last week. I had been really desperate, and she'd offered to come with me to find something. We went to town together, and strolled along the streets, checking out many of the shops. In the meanwhile, Ursa told me all the stories of her and Aeiroh when he was a little boy. He was a wise and sweet boy, she told, but he'd had an incredible sense of adventure, and so he'd gotten in some pretty funny situations once in a while.

'I remember this one time, when he was about 4 years old. We'd gone to Ember Island and, while there, we went to see a play. Aeiroh had been curious about it, and during the intermission he went backstage. We'd all lost him, and we were in quite a frenzy. But when the curtain opened for the second act, we were all so surprised to see him on the stage, completely in costume with make-up and all. It was hilarious and we all had a good laugh about it afterwards, though Mai did tell him off for scaring us so much.' Ursa smiled, reminiscing. 'I still remember it so well, he was portraying the Blue Spirit, of which we now all know was his father during the Great War. He did a very good job at it.'

At that moment, inspiration finally struck me. 'I'll give him a mask!' I said, barely able to contain my enthousiasm. Ursa grinned, 'That's a brilliant idea, let's go find one.' And we were on our way to find a mask. In the end, we bought one from the same old lady where I had gotten my necklace. When I saw her again, I immediately gripped the pendant, remembering that fateful night. It had brought me to Aeiroh, and so had this lady. The necklace had become my most treasured object, I often didn't even wear my mother's necklace anymore. Home had been completely left behind, it felt like a completely different world now.

The lady had recognized me and had been very friendly. She asked me how I was doing, and how the young man who bought my necklace was doing as well. 'I told you that necklace would find its way back to you. It belongs with you, my dear.' She was still a little strange to me, but I thanked her anyway. 'It brought me to a new family, thank you so much.' She also helped me find the perfect mask for Aeiroh. It was a half mask, enough to only cover the bridge of the nose and the eye area. It was very simple, the edges round, the mask itself a midnight blue, his favourite colour. Red stripes of paint and rubies were painted on the mask, making intricating patterns. It was beautiful.

The morning at breakfast we had a big birthday cake. Apparently, that's breakfast, lunch and dessert when it's someone's birthday in the Palace. I liked it. Aeiroh got the presents from everyone. A new training outfit from Geoi, a beautiful book-set on firebending and some golden wristbands from Iroh and Ursa, and from his parents he got the party, but they also gave him a painting. The painting would still have to be made, but the gift was that he could decide what should be on it. It was a beautiful gift, I'd think. Then, it was my turn.

I gave him my gift, and I was very nervous when he started to unwrap it. He was silent for a moment, gazing at the mask. Then he looked at me, his smile more radiant then ever. It's beautiful, Ange.' And I thought I heard him swallowing a little lump in his throat. He hugged me, and then put on the mask. 'What do you think?' he asked. Everyone smiled:

'It's beautiful.'

'It's cool!'

'We should've had a masked ball.'

'Well, that might be an idea for his next birthday, don't you think?'

Aeiroh and me just grinned at each other. 'It's..' I started. 'Perfect.' He finished for me.

The ball began at 8 o'clock that night. We'd had a banquet late in the afternoon, and there would be some food during the ball. I was extremely nervous when I was getting ready. I bathed first, relaxing my nerves and feeling at ease with my element surrounding me. I got out of the bathtub and dried myself with a towel. It wasn't as easy as bending all the water off, but I had to keep my act together. Plus, I rather liked the sensation of the soft towel rubbing my skin.

I was smelling like my favourite oil, and feeling very cozy, when I went into my room to put on the dress. It was in a box on my bed, exactly where Mr Onjio had put it that morning. I hadn't dared to look at it yet. Now, though, I opened the box, and it revealed a beautiful golden dress. It was the simple design that he had tried on, but the golden silk was now embroidered with little rubies and sapphires, moving in waves along the skirt. It was amazing. I carefully slipped it on and turned to the mirror. I was astonished. The gold looked beautiful on my tanned skin, the soft fabric hugged my figure like a second skin, and the gems sparkled brightly. I'd never seen myself so… sophisticated.

There was a knock on the door, and I turned around. 'Come in.' Ursa and Lady Mai appeared. 'Look at you.' Ursa said, looking.. proud? May smiled. Are you almost ready? The ball is starting soon. I nodded. 'I just need to fix my hair.' I didn't wear any make-up, and I'd already put on my necklace (Aeiroh's of course), which matched the dress perfectly. 'Let me do it for you.' Ursa said, and she took a brush from the vanity. In 10 minutes – and a couple of hairs less – my hair was done. It was wrought up in a beautiful twist, wit one single strand of hair (which she'd curled), curling down next to my face. I couldn't believe how she'd done it so fast. 'As a fire lady, you learn a lot about appearances.' She winked.

We went down to the ballroom. I hadn't seen this from the inside before, but it was huge. The outside wall consisted of large, ceiling windows, and a few glass doors, leading to the balcony. A large stairwell surrounded the other 3 walls, with one grand entrance in the middle wall. Huge chandeliers were dangling from the elaborately painted ceiling. The floor was a white, gleaming marble. For Aeiroh's birthday everything had been decorated in the same style as the rest of the palace, midnight blue with red Fire Nation emblems and golden accents. I had never seen anything as grand as this before. There were already a lot of people when I made my entrance. A lot of heads turned, but I was shy, and looked down. After a few minutes, the Royal family was officially announced. First, Princess Ursa and Prince Iroh came down the stairwell, with Geoi following suit. The Firelord and lady came after that, and then, Aeiroh.

The large doors opened, and there he was, dressed in magnificent red robes, with golden dragons with sapphire eyes embroidered on it. He looked incredibly handsome. He stood on the top of the stairwell for a minute, smiling at the people, and looking around the crowd. His eyes found mine, and they widened for a moment, his smile growing even bigger. We kept staring at each other as he walked down the stairs, straight to me. 'Your Grace.' I curtsied, smiling. 'My lady.' He bowed. 'You look beautiful tonight.' I blushed, looking down. 'Thank you. If I may say so, you're looking pretty spectacular yourself.' He smiled. In the background, the orchestra was starting to play. 'Can I have this first dance, mylady?' He asked me in a very gentlemanly manner. 'You certainly may.' I grinned, feeling elated as he took my hand and lead me to the dancefloor.

Dancing with him felt like flying.. I'd never felt more liberated. The dancing came very naturally, and we talked and laughed, continuing dance after dance together. My eyes never left his, and his hands kept me close to him. The whole world disappeared. Until, at last, there was a short intermission, and the music died down for 15 minutes…

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**I just love parties and pretty dresses.. finally the romance is kicking in, this is the most fun writing;) So chapter 12 shouldn't take long!:)**

**-xx-**


	13. Twelve

**_Twelve_**

Aeiroh and I had stopped dancing, and he led me outside to the balcony. I sat down on a little bench, straightening out my dress. He sat next to me, still holding my hand. He was looking at it for a moment, and so was I. 'Angie?' he asked. 'Are you.. happy here?' I looked at him. Of course I was happy, why would he think that? _It's the first place ever where I've felt truly at home.._ 'Yes.' I answered him. 'Good.' He smiled at me. 'I was fearing you would get homesick. You don't talk a lot about your family, but it seems like you miss them sometimes.' _Oh crap.. how did it happen that he knew me so well?_

Because it was true. Even though my parents had limited me in my freedom, of course I loved them. And therefore, I missed them. I'd been away for a very long time, and I got a little homesick when I thought about them. Not that I wanted to leave here, of course. But I did miss the conversations I would have with grandfather, and the fun of mother teaching me how to waterbend. I missed the times when our whole family would be together, my uncle Sokka was always so funny, and it was really cool to see everyone sparr together. I missed my father's embrace, and the wisdom of uncle Aang. But I wouldn't, couldn't, give up this life I had now. It was mine, and it was possibly the happiest I'd ever been in my life.

'I do miss them. But I'll see them again someday. And I'm too happy to leave here.' I winked. He smiled and put his arm around me. 'I'm glad.' We were silent for a moment, enjoying the beautiful evening. Suddenly, though, a few doors opened inside, and all the people fell silent. Then, Geoi came outside to us. 'They're here!' He squealed happily, and he raced back inside. 'Who?' I asked, puzzled. 'My father's friends!' Aeiroh was excited now. 'You have to meet them, they're all like uncles and aunts to me. They're amazing people.' 'You don't mean..' I started, but I knew very well who he meant. 'The heroes from the Great War, Avatar Aang, Lady Toph, Lord Sokka, Lady Katara and their families!'

_No.. No, no NO! This can't happen, this can't be, not now, not here, they just.. they can't be here!_Inside my mind, I was panicking completely. I didn't know what to do, but my mind was racing. I just needed some time to think of a plan.. _That's it! I'll just tell him to go first, pretend I'm nervous, or shy, or whatever.._'You go, I'll follow behind you. This is quite a shock, meeting these… great people! I'll come after you, I just need a moment to calm down.' I said to him, my voice even. He nodded, then hugged me. 'Don't worry, you'll be fine.' He said. Then he stood up and walked back towards the party. I realised this might be the last time I saw him. 'Aeiroh?' I called after him, and he turned around. 'Yes?' 'Thank you.' I said. He smiled, 'no problem.', even though he didn't understand now. Maybe he never would. I watched him walk through the doors and disappear in the crowd.

A plan had formed in my mind, and as soon as he was gone, I got into action. I would leave. I would bolt. I would run away as far and hard as I could. I tried not to think about what I left behind… _That's what you get when you get attached._I reprimanded myself. I quickly waterbended some water from the pond. I hadn't done it for months, yet with all the firebending practices, it still came easily. I bended it into the form of a slide, and slid down it. My dress lit up in the moonlight, and I tried to stay in the shadows. I was undetected, as I made my way to the duckpond. There were only few people who knew that, underneath this duckpond, there was an underground river, leading from the forest right behind the palace, underneath it, to the sea. Aeiroh had told me this on one of the many occasions we fed the ducks.

There were no ducks now. Everything was dark as I took one last glance at the Palace. I'd probably never see it again. I swallowed my tears – there was no time for them now – and dove into the pond. Once I was in the water, I swam down. I detected a hole in the pond, and knew that this would lead to the river. I bended an airbubble around my head and went through the hole. I bended myself up the stream and landed with a splash in the river, rapidly going downstream. I found a rock in the middle of the river, and paused for a minute. My escape had been in such a rush, I needed to think what I'd do next.

I decided I'd take it one step at a time. Now, I only had 2 ways to choose. Down or upstream. I figured that they'd start looking for me sooner downstream, near the harbour… If they would come looking for me. I didn't dare to think about what I'd done to Aeiroh. He would now certainly know who I was. And what a liar I had been. I shook it off, couldn't think about it now that I had more important matters on my mind. I decided to go upstream, and from there on land inwards. I dove into the water again and used my bending to propel myself downstream. It was almost effortless, which was pretty nice. It would have been impossible to swim through the stream, which was pretty strong.

The river took me up and up, further along, under the palace, and out again, until at some point it emerged in the woods. I climbed out of the river and onto the banks, where I rested for a couple of minutes, catching my breath. My once so beautiful golden dress was soaked, and torn from the river. Just like my home was now torn. I couldn't believe how this evening had turned out. I'd had such great expectations, and now, everything was ruined.

The moon was bright, and reflected off the golden silk. I was staring at my reflection in the water. I saw a tear running down my face, it ended in the water with a drip. The water rippled at the contact with my tear. When the water had calmed down and was still again, I noticed a dark figure in the reflection. It hadn't been there before. I turned around and gasped. A masked man came towards me. I was getting ready to waterbend, but before I could move, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. Then, everything went black…

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**Drastic changes, huh? I hope you liked it though. Tell me if you have any comments. Am I moving the story****too fast?**

**Well, let me know, and thank you all for the reviews! It's always great to hear that people like your story:)**

**-xx-**


	14. Thirteen

**_Thirteen_**

When I woke up, I was bound to a pole. My head hurt and my vision was blurred. I was sitting on my knees and felt them digging into dirt. When my dizziness subsided a little, I looked around. The scene that unfolded before me was confusing. I was on some sort of campground, deep in the forest. Everything was quiet around me, making me shiver. The sky was gloomy, though the sun had already begun to rise.

Then, I heard a voice behind me.  
'So, you're awake then, eh?' A man moved into my vision, facing me. He was intimidating, very big and rough looking. His eyes were dark like onyx, almost completely black. He stared at me with his cold discs. His face was filled with scars, his beard only covering up some of the beaten flesh. His hair was sand coloured and long and his clothing was ragged. He wore a belt with – from what I could tell – at least three knives and two swords. He tried to stare me down, but I withstood his cruel gaze.

'Who are you, and what do you want from me?' He started to laugh. 'Let me go, how dare you take me!' I started to yell. 'Shut up, you wench!' Another man had appeared, slapping me in the face hard. More men were coming out of their tents now. 'Let… me… GO!' I hissed through my teeth. 'Shut it!' I felt another blow to my face. 'You are going to help us, little girl.' 'Who are you?' I retorted. They merely laughed their mean, dark laughs. 'We're the rebels our beloved Firelord has been looking for so long.' I gasped. 'And now that we have the darling friend of his dear son, the prince, we'll surely succeed in our plan.' 'What do you mean, what are you going to do to them?' I demanded. 'You'll find out soon enough girlie.'

I struggled a bit and stood up, facing the cruel men defiantly. 'There's no way in Hell you'll ever harm them!' One of the men came closer 'Why, what are you going to do about it, little girl?' I faced him, staring into his eyes with pure hatred. I waited until he was just close enough. When he was, I mustered up all my strength and kicked him right between the legs. The man grunted and fell to the ground. 'You nasty little witch!' The others rushed to his aid, and I was quickly tied down again, getting some more blows to my face and stomach in the process.

'You will pay for this, wench.' One of the men said. It was later that day, and I had been removed from the pole and tied down onto a big rock. Someone tore open the back of my dress. The man I kicked had recovered well enough to stand again. He was apparently the leader of the rebels. And he was going to take revenge.

I was woozy and disoriented from being bound to the pole the whole day. It was twilight now and I was too weak to think clearly, because I hadn't gotten any food since the previous day. As I was put to punishment, I was bordering unconsciousness. That was, until I suddenly felt the sharp pain on my back. The pain was immense, as if my back was being sliced in two. It cut deep into my flesh, and I felt it in my very core. I bit my tongue to hold in the scream that was building in my throat, as the lashes of the whip increased. After 10, I lost count, the leader lashing his whip as he pleased. I might have screamed after a while, I can't remember. At some point, I simply fell numb, my body on autopilot.

After some time, I was thrown in a tent and again bound to a pole. I was still in shock from the lashings and I wasn't very conscious of the situation anymore. At some point – when I was more lucid - I heard the rebels talk of invading the palace and their big plan. I didn't register it completely, though I heard the words and remembered them.

It was becoming dark outside, yet I barely noticed it, silently lying there. Somewhere that evening, it started to rain. Suddenly hearing, smelling and feeling my element around me woke me up. It was now all clear, I knew what I had to do, which as stopping these horrible men from hurting the people I'd grown to care for a lot. I tried not to think about what they'd done to me, not to feel anything. All I could – had to – think about now, was that they were going to attack the palace. And Aeiroh. I had to stop them.

Focusing on the rain outside, I bended some into the tent. This was hard, since I had to bend with my hands tied together. I managed to freeze the ropes tied around my wrists with just my fingers. This took a while though, and when I was done, I broke my bindings swiftly. Then, in utter silence, I cut a little hole in the tent. The back was faced to the forest, and since the rebels were all from the Fire Nation – rising with the sun - there weren't many of them awake. I wasn't guarded, so I opened the cut a little more and crawled outside. I sighed in relief when I felt the rain hit my back, it felt so soothing. Pausing for a moment to hear if there were any guards who noticed me – thankfully not, they were all facing the other side of the tent – I crawled into the bushes. Undetected, I followed the pull that lead me to the river. With much of my strength gone, I simply dropped in the water and let it carry me. I hadn't waterbended for so long, and now all my strength was gone as well. I had no energy left even, to heal myself.

The strong current was cold as ice and I almost froze when I was in the caves underneath the Palace. I recognised the rock I rested on the night before, and knew the pond was somewhere above my head. I can't recall exactly how I did or even managed it, yet somehow I found my way up, coming up for air in the pond. The moon was high in the sky, the garden lit up beautifully. I rushed through the garden to the doors, running through the palace. I was rushing to the throne room so fast, that I didn't even notice all the lights that were still on – which was a quite uncommon thing in the palace.

I burst into the throne room. Firelord Zuko was on his throne. 'My lord!' I was panting, yet I almost ran forward to him. 'The rebels, they're in the woods, they're right here! They plan to attack the palace!' I stopped, out of breath. The Firelord looked at me in horror. Only then did I realise what my state must have been, the blood and wounds from the beating all over my torn and filthy dress. It was only then that I saw Aeiroh, coming down from where he had been sitting behind his father.

I couldn't make out the look in his eyes.. There was shock, yes, pain.. and maybe… anger? I was frozen to my spot when he came down to me and circled around me slowly. I heard him take in a sharp breath when he saw my back. 'What have they done to you?' He turned to face me and looked me in my eyes. 'What happened?' He asked, his expression confused and hurt. I didn't know what to say. I simply stared at him, dumbstruck. My mind was racing, while my body was frozen. What to tell him? _How could I tell him what happened? I bolted? I lied to him, hurt him in order not to blow my cover.. No matter what I say, he'll never understand. He'll never forgive me. How could he? What I did was unforgivable. _

While all these thoughts went through my head, Zuko called out to his son. 'Not now, Aeiroh. Let her rest. We found her at least, that is enough now. We can call back the search parties.' 'Search parties?' This confused me. 'Yes, our friends, the staff, the family, everyone has been looking for you since you disappeared at the party.' Aeiroh explained to me. At that moment the doors opened. 'Well, seems like we don't have to call them back.' Zuko said. I turned around apprehensively.

It wasn't a surprise when I saw them there. They were horrified by my state, happy to see me alive, yet what I saw most was shock, and utter surprise, scrawled all over their faces. 'Kiara?' My mother uttered my name. I hadn't heard it for such a long time. It was all too much to handle. I crushed to the ground, my energy, my adrenaline, everything had deserted me now, exhaustion and darkness washed over me.

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**I have to say, this is one of my least favourite chapters. It was quite difficult to write, so I hope you enjoy it.  
It's heavy, and the trouble's just started. Keep on reading and you'll see if the mood improves;)**

**-xx-**


	15. Fourteen

**_Fourteen_**

First, I heard the voices. They were distant, floating over my head. Some voices were familiar, some foreign. I could make out small bits and pieces of conversation, sentences here and there. A man was talking. 'She is exhausted now, her body needs to restore energy and use all its strength to heal her. Her wounds have been tended to and are healing just fine. She will be all right.' His tone was reassuring. 'Thank you, this is good news.' I heard someone speak. It was the Firelord. My head was heavy, and the conversation tuned down as I dozed off…

The next thing I remember was waking up to cool hands. I was flipped on my stomach, feeling soothing water over my back. I was being healed, and I knew there was only one person here who could do that. My eyes fluttered open, and I had to squeeze them a little against the light. I was in the infirmary, on a comfortable white bed. I could see my former favourite flowers (spending time in the fire nation had made me love fire lilies more), ice lilies, standing on the bedside table. I wondered how they could have gotten them here.

'Hi mom.' I croaked. The healing hands paused. Then she continued again, silent for a few moments, before she gently flipped me over onto my back. She simply gazed at me. 'So…' I sighed softly. 'I guess you found me.' The hurt was evident in her eyes. 'You left.' Her tone was accusing, filled with emotion. I looked down, not wanting to see what pain I had caused my family. For months I had been able to convince myself that they would be all right, actively ignoring all the guilt, ignoring the fact that I missed my family. 'We have searched for you everywhere. We were so scared.. and when we didn't find you for so long… I was afraid you were..-' Her voice trailed off, now only filled with concern and pain.

I opened my eyes again, looking into my mother's. Once, she had been like me. She was still beautiful and strong. Even after having me, she always looked young. Now, however, I noticed the wearied lines around her eyes, how she had aged. I even spotted some grey hairs in her raven curls.

'I'm sorry.' I said silently, the apology coming right out of my heart. There was a long silence, the air full of emotion. Her voice was barely a whisper now, but it hurt me more than anything else. 'Why Kiara? Why did you leave us?'

I swallowed hard, mustering up the courage to look her in the eyes. When I finally did, I could see the abandonment, confusion, anger, but most of all, hurt, in her eyes. All the emotions were flitting through her eyes with surprising speed. She was my mother, and I had left her. She felt betrayed. I sighed softly, trying to think of a way to explain. An explanation to reason, an explanation she would understand. When I spoke, my voice was soft, yet firm. 'Because I wanted freedom.'

She was silent for a moment, taken aback. Then, she let out a heavy sigh. I continued. 'Mother, I know you love me, and that father and you only want what's best for me, but arranging a marriage? Especially with Lu Kaba, a man you know I detest? And you didn't even want to consider my opinion? I mean.. how could you mom? What did you expect me to do?' 'Stay.' She said softly, without much conviction, though. 'Really? You expected me to stay?' She looked away silently, staring out of the window. 'Mother, I love you, and I didn't want to leave, not in that way. But I can't be happy marrying a man that I hate. You married out of love as well, I know you did. Don't you want the same for me?' She sighed, and looked back at me, now with tears in her eyes. 'I'm so sorry honey…' and she stroked my hair. 'I guess that the rules of the Nation have taken away more of my old self than I'd expected. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I just want you to be happy.' I took her hand. 'I know, and I want you and dad to be happy, too. I'm so sorry I ran away, it was not the best decision. But I wanted to see the world, travel it like you always did… I… I wanted to have some freedom and knowledge of the world, before I would have to rule our nation…' She nodded. 'It's okay honey, I understand.' I scooted over in the bed to make room for her, and she cuddled up next to me, where we held each other tightly. 'I'm sorry.' I whispered. 'I'm sorry, too.' And at that moment, I knew we'd be allright. We lay there together, until I fell asleep again.

The conversation with my father was a little harder. He is not a man to forgive quickly, even though he still considers me his little girl. He was mostly hurt, and I had lost his trust. But after a while, talking, explaining, reasoning with him, we were okay. After reasoning with both my parents, and of course apologizing vehemently to father, they agreed that I could use some experience abroad. I would be allowed to travel alone for half a year, before returning home. I had to be home by my next birthday. They also promised me that they wouldn't force me to marry Lu Kaba. I would be allowed to marry anyone I chose, as long as I was married before my 21st birthday. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than I'd have hoped. I was glad to finally see them again. I truly had missed them.

I remained in recovery for a week. I had apologized to all the members of the Royal family for lying to them. I also thanked them for everything, and explained that I truly had a wonderful time in the Fire Nation Capital, and I genuinely cared for them. I told them all… except for Aeiroh. He didn't come, and I couldn't go and find him, because I had to stay on the ward. Geoi, Ursa and Iroh visited me every day. Iroh and Ursa saw that I was worrying over Aeiroh, and they tried to console me, saying that he was merely hurt and that he would be okay soon. I knew that more was wrong. He probably hated me. However, I didn't talk about him, didn't say anything about how bad I felt. I only wanted to talk to Aeiroh.

The Firelord visited me on the third day of my bedrest. I felt so horrible when I looked at him. He looked so much like Aeiroh, it almost felt as if I was talking to his son. I sincerely apologized, and he seemed to genuinely listen. He looked stern, towering above my bed. However, I thought I could detect a faint smile. He told me he understood and forgave me. The funny thing is, I thought he truly understood. He forgave me, which kind of came as a surprise as well. He visited two other times, and was quite friendly then. He told me things about his childhood with my mother, and said that we were very much alike. 'Although she'll probably deny vehemently that she was such a rebel as you are.' He chuckled. In these couple of days, I got to see a whole other side of the Fire Lord, and I could see where Aeiroh had gotten his noble spirit from. The Fire Lord was a very kind and wise man. I was glad he was there to console me a little, while I secretly fretted about Aeiroh.

When the week was over, I was free to look for him. I searched for about an hour inside the Palace, but I didn't find Aeiroh. I sat down to think about where I could find him. He probably knew that I was allowed out of the infirmary and had hidden well. Fortunately for me, I knew all his hiding spots, so I decided to try them all. I searched at the pond, in the little alcove hidden in the library, in the training arena, outside on the hill where he had secretly taught me, everywhere. I found him, in the end, at the beach.

The river which runs underneath the city, leads to the beach of the shores before the capitol. When traveling down that river, you find a secret passage in the outer wall. This leads to a path which takes you out of the city, into the woods. Once, Aeiroh took me here. We walked through the woods, until we came to the sea. I recalled the memory now, as I arrived at that same point.

_He took my hand, pulling me along the shore. 'It's beautiful here.' I sighed, glad to finally be near the ocean again. He smiled at me, taking me towards the cliffs. 'I'm glad you like it. Come on, I want to show you something.' We walked across the cliffs, until we came to a little cove. Aeiroh climbed off the slope of the cove until he landed on a ridge. Carefully, he lifted me down. 'Where are you taking me?' I asked, in wonder of this place. He merely smiled, before ducking into a hole in the cliff's wall, which I hadn't seen before. It was a little tunnel, hidden from the usual passer-bye's eye. The tunnel winded down, until we arrived in a cave. The water came in the cave, but not fully, it was as if there was a small shore, built in the cave. There were several holes in the roof, through which the sunlight streamed in, dancing on the water. I had been breathtaken. 'This place is amazing.' I sighed. He stared intently at me. 'This is where I come to relax, come to my senses. Where I can just let go and be myself, you know, not having to think about rules, laws, being a prince.. Here, I don't have to think about anything, and just let to.' I had nodded. That was about the last we had said during our stay. We had simply sat there, revelling in the beauty and tranquility. Enjoying each other's company, and the cave, all day. I had truly found a connection to him then. _

Now, I flinched when I thought about that connection. I had broken it. I had betrayed him, from the first minute. When I had started looking for him, earlier that day, I had feared he would be here. I had known all along, yet I was too afraid to go down here. Because being here implied the seriousness of the situation. It forced me to fully come to terms with what I'd done, and I didn't like it.

As I came out of the tunnel and stepped into the light, I knew it was time to face up to my fears. Aeiroh was sitting at the edge, his feet almost getting wet by the water. He had his back turned to me. I was the one who had to make the first step, this time, I knew that. So I stood straight, walked over to him, and softly sat down next to him.

* * *

**So, here's finally some more story! I'm sorry I don't update more often, but I'm so busy all the time, and I usually write when the inspiration or passion strikes. So it's going slow, but eh, it's going;)  
This one was okay to write, but the next one will be harder, so it might take a while (again, so i'm sorry!)  
Anyway, enjoy and please review!:)**


	16. Fifteen

**_Fifteen_**

He didn't look at me, but simply continued to stare out at the water. I took a deep breath and made the first step.

'Hey.' I said softly. He still didn't look at me. 'I'm Kiara, what's your name?'

He turned his head and looked at me. His gaze was icy and furious, I had to surpress a shiver. _I deserve this. _I thought. _And I have to go through with it._

I looked in his beautiful, golden eyes for a moment, before, quietly, yet firmly, I apologized. 'I'm sorry Aeiroh. You never deserved this, I'm so sorry that I betrayed you. There's no excuse, I know that. It's just that, I didn't plan on being friends, I didn't plan on staying. At first. So it didn't seem to matter then. I did feel bad for lying to you, really. But when I realised that this wasn't just nothing, that I wanted to stay, because you're the best friend I've ever had, it was too late. Too late for me to go back and tell you the truth.' The words somehow spilled out, all at once and I couldn't stop them from falling out so quickly. He must have thought I was an idiot.

When I was done talking, he simply continued to stare at me, silently. I waited for him to say something. I waited for him to get mad, yell at me, be cold as ice, anything. But he remained silent.

'Aeiroh..' My voice was barely a whisper now, and I was having trouble with the lump that had formed in my throat. 'Please Aeiroh. Say something, please!' I was begging now. And it seemed to help.

'You could have trusted me.' He spoke silently, looking away. 'When you were taken by those rebels, I was so scared, Angie, damnit!' He looked at me now. 'I was out searching for you, I didn't know where you went, what had happened. And then you stormed into that throne room, yelling about rebels, and you have no idea how bad you looked. Your back, all that blood. I was horrified. But then your parents came in and I found out that your name wasn't Angie, and you were a whole different person. You're a princess, you're a _waterbender_!' He shouted angrily now, on full steam. 'You had me fooled there very well, I may say. Having me training you to learn some self-defense, pretending you're this helpless girl who neded guidance.' I cringed at his bitter insults, but I let him continue. 'I can't believe I cared so much for you. I thought you were my friend, I was worried sick about you! But everything you said was a lie-'

'That's not true.' I interrupted him now. 'Yes, I lied about who I was and where I came from. But I never lied about anything else, how I felt, all the fun we had. And I did need help with the fake-firebending, I truly did. Please, you have to believe me - although I know I don't have much grounds of truth - but I never lied about our friendship. Aeiroh, I'm so sorry I hurt you and betrayed you, but I have never lied about the fact that I care for you and your family. That I have had so much fun with you, and learned so much. You're my friend Aeiroh, and at least to me, you'll always be that. And I hope that, one day, you'll be able to see this as well. I know you will probably not trust me, and maybe not even forgive me, at least for a very long time. But please, stay my friend.'

He studied me for a long moment, probably contemplating if I wasn't lying. But then, something shifted in his eyes, as if he had seen through me. He smiled a little smile and it went right through my heart. 'Okay.' He said softly, and that was enough. I smiled and leaned forward as we hugged each other tightly. 'Thank you' I whispered. We sat there until the sun slowly sank into the ocean, a perfect fiery disk, bouncing of the waves. Two elements entwined together, just like ourselves.

When the moon was out and the stars shone bright, Aeiroh released his hug on me, a strange look on his face. 'Will you waterbend for me?' He asked. I blinked, the question was so unexpected. But I nodded and stood, resuming a waterbending stance for the first time since ages. 'I might have gotten a little rusty.' I joked. He just gazed at me, solemnly, and maybe a little curiously. I focused, pushing and pulling the waves for a bit, until I got out a string of water. I played with it for a bit, revelling in the fact that I was, finally, reunited with my element. I was in a trance, dancing with the string of water, before I took a more serious stance to practice some fighting. My waterwhip was as good as it had always been, and my little 'training' went quite well. At some point, inspiration struck. I remembered all the lessons with Aeiroh and now tried them with my waterbending. I shot blasts of water all around, and then, with my middle and index fingers, shot little icicles all around me. I had seen Aeiroh do this with fire, lighting many candles in just a minute.

Aeiroh chuckled at my moves. 'I really taught you something, you'll be a powerful master if you continue to copy moves like this.' I smiled at him. 'Well, I had the best teacher there is.' He stood up now. 'Well, I've taught you so much firebending, could you give me a little waterbending lesson?' I looked up at him, glad that he was accepting my element, and the real me, so well.

'Allright, let's do that, I think it's more than fair. But it's too small here, let's go over to the beach.'

He smiled at this, and we left the cave. On the beach I walked into the sea, until the water came about up to my middle.

'The first and most important thing to know about waterbending, is that water is adaptive, it is the element of change. There's a saying in my Tribe, old as time itself. It's somehow like a motto: "Water can carve its way through stone. And when trapped, water makes a new path." This is the strongest asset of our element.'

I paused for a minute, now focusing on pushing and pulling the water in front of me. 'Tui and La, the spirits of the Moon and the Ocean, first showed our ancestors how to waterbend. Our ancestors studied the way the moon pushed and pulled the ocean water, or the tides. Our bending is like our element, flowing and graceful. We use our environment to our advantage, working in sync with it. Our bending is like the push and pull of the tides, we take our defense and turn it around to offense, so you turn your opponents force against them. Excactly the opposite of firebending, since you try to overwhelm your opponents with your own force, before striking the fatal blow. Firebending, however, focuses mainly on offense, so your defenses are low.'

'Let's start you first with feeling the push and pull. Water is all about controlling the push and pull of your element, of your fight, and inside yourself.' I moved to stand in front of him and took his hands, slowly using pushing and pulling movements, while waterbending the waves at the same time. He was silent, his eyes half closed as he focused on feeling the push and the pull. The moon was full tonight, which provided enough extra energy to help him feel it. After a while, he looked up at me, smiling softly. 'I think I'm getting the hang of it.' 'Good, then let's move on to the next move.'

I went to stand a little further from him and drew out a water whip. 'Water bending features slow movements and elegant forms, because in this way, you feel as one with the water. The water whip is one of the easiest, yet one of the most powerful waterbending moves, if one knows how to use it. The movement itself is just like flowing water, and the move allows you to return your enemies' attack while deflecting it. You move like this,' I slowly showed him how to create a water whip, 'to create a tendril of water, which you can then swipe at your opponent.' I swiped. Then I moved over to him again. 'Use your fire.' He obeyed immediately, creating a flame. I bended an orb of water into my hands, holding it just like his flame. 'Now move like this to create a longer string of water, well, fire in your case.' He copyed my move quite fluidly. 'And now, whip it. Like this.' I tried not to laugh when he tried. He failed miserably at whipping, not quite understanding the movement. But then, firebending hadn't come very easy for me as well.

'God, that was bad.' 'It's okay, bending your opposite element is hard.' I smiled at him. 'We'll just try again, until you get it right, okay?' He smiled. 'Okay.'

We practiced all night, until we were so exhausted we practically collapsed. By dawn, he'd nailed the whip. He was so glad, he picked me up and twirled me, before we both fell into the water, laughing. 'Thank you.' he said, when the laughing had died down somewhat. 'It was an honour, your Majesty.' I said, joking around and playing courltly. 'No, it was an honour for me, Master Kiara.' He bowed to me, making me laugh. I loved it when he made me laugh like that. I splashed him with a little water, and he dove right on me, ready to splash me back. It was all good fun, as we splashed around for a little, before finally collapsing on the sand, laughing our guts out. I yawned, after I was finally able to breathe normally again and Aeiroh turned his head towards me.

'We should probably go back and get some sleep.' I nodded, I could use some rest. 'That sounds lovely.' He stood up and then helped me to my feet. He kept his arm around my middle as we walked back to the Palace in silence, my head resting on his shoulder. We were too tired for words, but that didn't matter.

We didn't need them.

* * *

**Whew, I'm so inspired lately!:P I re-read some reviews lately and felt so horrible for making you wait all the time, that I'm definetely going to update more often! (so sorry for all the long waits :$)  
Anyway, has any of you seen Charlie St. Cloud yet? OMG, it's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, I swear. Totally made me cry though xD But yeah, it got me all inspired to go on with this story, somehow. And I bought the book like, right after I'd seen it, so I hope to get some more inspiration from that;)  
****anyway, for all of you who are just as hopelessly romantic as I am: definetely GO SEEN CHARLIE ST. CLOUD!  
**

**The quote about water Kiara used is from the movie 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. (Also a very beautiful and tragic movie!) That quote has always entranced me and I'm so glad I finally got to use it^^**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, please R&R!**

**With love, -xx- **


	17. Sixteen

_**Sixteen**_

That last week at the Fire Palace flew by so fast. I knew that I would leave, and I wanted to travel, I wanted to see the world and experience freedom the way my mother had when she was young. But I would certainly miss everyone at the palace, I'd grown to love the people who had taken me in as a friend - no, even more, they had taken me in as _family_.

Aeiroh would be the hardest to leave behind. I hated the fact that we would be apart, even though that would be inevitable in the end. Still, I tried to postpone our parting as long as I could. That's how I ended up, that last day there, sitting with Aeiroh at the turtle-duck pond. We'd been sparring and training each other a lot that week, and we had just had another training - under Iroh's guidance this time - so we now rested and played with the turtle ducks. We hadn't spoken about my leaving at all, that week, but I knew we had to sometime. Especially since I wasn't planning on going without him.

'So,' I started, 'today's my last day here.' He was feeding the little turtle-ducks some breadcrumbs, stiffening only slightly when I brooched the subject. 'I know.' Was his quiet response. 'I'm going to travel all over the world.' I continued, 'I'll be going to the Earth Kingdom, I'll visit the Air Temples, I'll go to the North Pole, and of course I want to see more of the Fire Nation.' He didn't move at all now, silently staring at the turtle-ducks. 'Come with me?' I now said, silently.

He didn't move at first, but then he slowly turned around. 'I don't think I can.' He finally said. 'Oh.' I turned my gaze to the ground. This was not exactly the answer I had hoped for, nor had expected it, actually. I was so naïve. He had probably seen my dissapointment - though I hid it almost straight after it had hit me, he had still seen that little shift - because he hastily explained: "I don't think my parents will let me go. These days I can barely leave to get some spare time with all these meetings and lessons and trainings I have to attend for my training as future Fire Lord. I don't think they'll just let me leave for half a year.' I nodded, of course, I should have expected this, it was what my parents would say as well. Yet I couldn't help feeling dissapointed as my hopes fell, and also somewhat angry at him for not even trying.

'It's okay. I just thought it would be.. You and me.. I thought... You know, maybe.. Oh, forget it, I don't know what I thought. Just - forget this whole conversation, okay? Nevermind.' I started to get up, confused now as to why I was suddenly so embarassed and wanted to flee from him, but he wouldn't let me. He took me by my wrists and gently pinned them - and me - down. He stared intently into my eyes. It was captivating, intriuging, yet the intensity of his gaze made me blush. I felt as if he looked right through my soul. Still, I could not tear my gaze away from his. My vision filled with gold, liquid gold, touching my core. And I could see what he was trying to hide, now. I saw the emotions in his eyes. They betrayed him, they told me that he was dissapointed as well, and he was also a little scared - or concerned maybe - frustrated and something else, I couldn't quite identify.

After losing myself, for what felt like ages, in his golden eyes, he spoke softly. 'Okay, I'll go ask them right now. You never know for sure unless you try.' He smiled, and I smiled back, my hope resurging. I hugged him and he spun me around. 'Thank you.' I whispered.

He went to his father to ask, and I was left outside by the pond. At first, I just sat, playing a little with the turtle-ducks. It took him a while, however, and I was pacing by the time the sun started to set. I'd always been one to worry quickly, and I was doing no less now. _What if something happens? What if they want him here for his Fire Lord training? What if they want all his teachers with him? What if the answer is no?_

At this, I stopped. I didn't want to think about that possibility, couldn't. And yet, I might have to face that answer. I continued my pacing again, this time faster. What if he couldn't come? What would I do? Would I still go? That was something I didn't dare to think about now. The answer would hurt, either way. It just depended on which loss I could take, friendship or freedom. But I didn't want to think about that, at all, now. In fact, I tried not to think about him at all. I tried to distract myself with thinking about other things, the turtle-ducks, the city, anything.

Eventually, I thought of the old lady who had first sold Aeiroh my necklace. _Whatever has become of her? She was so strange... kind of like a Seer. _An involuntary chill went down my spine. I shouldn't think about her.

I resumed my pacing, anxious to hear from Aeiroh by now. The moon was full out already when he returned. I flew over to him, patience has never been my strongest side. 'And, what did they say? Can you come?' He looked neutral, resigned, as if he was hiding something. The truth, his feelings, the answer I was about to get... it frightened me, though I didn't let on. He sighed softly, avoiding my gaze. 'I can't come.' He then said. Quietly. Plainly. But resolute.

'What do you mean, why?' I was pleading. 'You have to come Aeiroh, it's only half a year, I need you with me.' He swallowed and quickly turned his head, meeting my eye. His gaze was hard, unflinching, as was his voice. 'I have a duty to my people, _Kiara_. I can't just run off, they need me, now. More than you do.' His voice quieted down now. 'This is your adventure. You're strong, you are going to discover it and conquer its heart, the world will be yours. You don't need me.' He looked as though he was going to say more, but he hesitated and didn't say anything anymore. He didn't need to, I got the message, what he had wanted to say. _'And I don't need you.'_

I didn't know where his change in mood had come from, but I was more than a little shocked. His words stung me like knives, and on the inside, I was hurting more than I ever had. On the outside, however, I was perfectly composed and at ease. 'Okay.' I said, nodding. 'Then I guess I'll see you around.' He nodded in response. And suddenly, I had the urge to flee, to run away as quickly as I could from this man whom I cared so much about. Too much. So I ran. I excused myself, telling him I had to pack, and moving swiftly around so he couldn't catch me. Before he could even say 'Okay.' I was gone.

The following morning, I left early. I wasn't up this early, usually, but I didn't want to come face-to-face with Aeiroh again. I didn't want to tell him goodbye, knowing – if it were up to me – that it would be forever. I left a letter on the dresser to the whole family, with my thanks and some little gifts for all of them I had purchased in secret the week before. Then, I snuck out of the palace and set out for the town's center. My plan was to hire an ostrich horse (according to Aeiroh, his father had imported some thousand of them from the Earth Kingdom not too long after the war) and set out for the North. From there, my plan was to travel to the Western Air Temple and then to the North Pole.

I'd almost reached the center of town, when I ran into three familiar faces. Prince Iroh, Princess Ursa and little Prince Geoi were out on a day full of shopping and fun. They'd told me about it during my time there, Prince Iroh and Geoi both loved shopping, so lots of the quality grandparent time was spent in town. They were a little surprised to see me there so early. 'Princess Kiara, I thought you wouldn't leave til noon!' Iroh exclaimed. 'I'm sorry,' I apologized, but I want to reach Mahyira this evening. And I'm not very good at goodbyes.' I added sheepishly.

Ursa smiled. 'It's okay, my child, we understand. I'm glad we ran into you, though, so we can see you before you go.' After a little more chit-chat, We parted. Geoi was very sweet, trying not to cry. I'd come to see him as my little brother. I hugged him tightly, feeling a lump building in my throat as well. I swallowed it, hard. 'When will I see you again?' He asked. 'I don't know. But I'll promise you one thing,' I looked in his eyes, which were a different shade than Aeiroh's, a warm caramel colour, 'I'll be back.' He smiled at this as we let go of each other, more at ease now.

They walked with me to the stables and Iroh helped me get the very best ostrich horse. I thanked them all, hugged them again, and then got on my horse, riding off. I waved at them until I couldn't see them anymore and then shot one last glance at the volcano with the palace, the place where I had spent some of my happiest months. I sighed, the memories now tainted by what Aeiroh had said the other night. With a heavy hart, I turned around, facing the long road ahead of me. I pulled my straw hat a little further over my eyes as I opened my heart to this new adventure, my adventure.

And as I headed into the unknown adventure, I knew my story had only just begun.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER – I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or Charmed  
(I saw an old episode of Charmed the other day, which inspired me with the Seer.)**

**Well, this was the end of Part 1! I hope you liked it:)  
Please, review, it would make me very happy^^**


	18. Part Two

**Part Two**


	19. Part Two: One

_Part Two: One_

* * *

Five and a half months.

It had been exactly five and a half months since I had last seen this city, with its beautiful lights, its stately homes and streets and the volcano, rising above the city, with the palace on top shining its lights majestically over the Capital.

I had traveled everywhere these past five months. I had practiced firebending in little Fire Nation villages, learned to relax on the beach at Ember Island, visited the Spirit Pond at the North Pole, trained with the Kyoshi Warriors while visiting my family there. It had been a lot of fun seeing my uncle Sokka and aunt Suki again, which is why, after that, I had travelled the Air Temples, visiting uncle Aang.

He had taught me much about Airbending, but also about inner peace. All these years I had been running, searching for freedom. But Aang taught me what I really needed; to be able to see what I needed and respect my duty in life. I realized that I had been searching for freedom, and while everything I found and learned on this journey was amazing, it still felt empty. Yet, I decided to finish my travels, if only for the sake of my bending improving. Uncle Aang certainly encouraged me to incorporate Earthbending in my moves as well, so I could almost fight like an Avatar.

Thus, I traveled to Ba Sing Se, the infamous Swamp, little Earth Kingdom villages, Omashu and finally to my aunt Toph. She was tough, I had always admired that in her. She certainly needed it, with uncle Aang being from home so often to visit the Air Temples.

I had been staying with aunt Toph for a few weeks when we received word from Fire Lord Zuko that Azula had escaped from prison. I had not been keeping up with the news from the Fire Nation – or any political news, for that matter – at all, so this came as quite a shock. Apparently, the rebels who had kept me prisoner had not been found. Now, it seemed, they were the ones who had freed the mad Princess.

Toph had been called upon to come to the Fire Nation and discuss the plan to stop Azula. A ship was immediately deployed to leave the morning after we received the letter. Of course, I went with her.

And so we arrived here, a few days after we had left the Earth Kingdom. Ironically, we arrived exactly on the Summer Solstice. It was my 17th birthday and again, there was a great festival in the Fire Nation.

It almost felt like a déja-vu. One year ago I had arrived here to escape my home, my parents, to find my freedom. Now I returned, only this time not to run away from my parents, but to find them.

I had changed so much in that year, I almost didn't recognize myself. Because in trying to find my freedom, I had only found emptiness. On my journey, I hadn't found what I was looking for. I knew now, that what I had been looking for, had been here all along. Here, where my journey had begun, with the person who had sent me away from this place, all these months ago.

However, I remembered what I had learned from uncle Aang. And I knew now, where my destiny lay. _He_ had known all along. Maybe, that's why he had refused to come with me in the first place.

Now, I was back. I had refused to speak or think of _him_ all these months.. I hadn't uttered his name, even, for all this time. I was a waterbender, defense was our natural instinct and I had defended my heart. Yet, today, I had no choice. Matters bigger than us were at hand, and were I to follow my destiny, as I should and _would_, I had better get used to it.

That is how I ended up, dressed up and masked, riding a palantin with Toph to the Fire Palace. The Royal Family was celebrating the Solstice at the palace, despite the threat of Azula. I guess they didn't want to scare the Fire Nation's people. We had left in a rush, yet Toph had somehow succeeded in bringing along a tailor, who had provided us with gowns for the ball. For all Toph's harsnhess and snubbing of posh etiquette, she could certainly behave like a true Lady when she felt like it.

Toph sat silently next to me in the palantin, dressed in a lovely ochre dress with dark green accents. She looked so stately in her dress, it was almost hard to imagine the tough, no-nonsense, dressed up in loose combat pants aunt I was used to. I truly admired her.

While looking outside, I fiddled with the hem of my dress, suddenly nervous. The tailor had made me a beautiful dress, which made me feel every bit as sophisticated as I thought seventeen-year-olds were supposed to be. It was a backless, dark blue halter dress, which clung close to my upper body and fanned out slightly from my hips down. The skirt was decorated with millions of clear small crystals, sparkling like stars. From the bak of the dress hung a tiny silver chain with a crystal pendant shaped like a crescent moon. Because it was a masked ball, I was wearing a silver lace mask, which truly made me feel like Yue. Yet, while I had admired it all in my mirror earlier, I was now too nervous to appreciate it. What if he didn't like my dress? What if he hated me now? What if he had.. a _girlfriend?_ That was something I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle. During my time away I had realised the intensity of my feelings for him... and I refused, as of yet, to think of the fact that those feelings had been doomed from the start.

Silently, we entered the palace through the massive front gate. The halls were exactly as I remembered, though now decorated lavishly with red and gold. We entered the door to the ballroom and informed the doormen of our names. All the guests would be formally introduced upon their arrival. Toph would go first; "The honorable Master Lady Toph Beifong!" The doorman announced. Extremely nervous now, I removed my blue velvet cape as my name was called out:

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Kiara of the Southern Water Tribe!"

The room fell quiet, which made my entrance positively worse. Standing atop the massive grand staircase, _alone_, I swallowed, before gliding down as gracefully as I could.

While trying not to stumble, I searched the crowd involuntarily. There he was, looking more handsome than I had ever seen him, dressed in black robes with a red dragon and a golden phoenix.

It was then that our eyes met. After all this time, this secret hurt he had caused me these past months, I finally saw him again. His golden eyes smoldered as he made his way toward me. The music must have picked up again, because suddenly, he was before me, reaching his hand:

"Will you dance with me?"

I had been stricken speachless, so all I could do was nod and let him guide me to the dancefloor. His eyes, having haunted me for so long, were now all I could see.

"You have changed much." He said, pulling me from the trance of his eyes. "How can you tell?" "From your eyes... you look different... more mature, perhaps. And a little sadder than before. What has happened, these past months?" I didn't understand him. He had sent me away, did he think all was well between us now? What was he doing? "I grew up." I responded a little stonily. He nodded at this. "Well, you do look beautiful tonight. As radiant as the Moon herself." I looked up at this and he smiled. "I missed you, Kiara." I was silent for a moment, not knowing what to do. Yet he pulled me in, the energy around us practically sparked fire and I couldn't resist the strength of our bond.

Slowly, I rested my head on his chest. "I missed you as well, Aeiroh." I sighed.

I knew, he had hurt me. I knew, this wouldn't last. I knew that this future was not what I wanted... I had already decided what my destiny should be. But all those thoughts slipped away and I simply enjoyed the moment.

And while he twirled me in this strong, warm arms, I felt whole again.

* * *

**My dear readers,**

**My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates this past year. Unfortunately, I am not very disciplined in my writing and with starting my studies at the uni this year, I have beene extremely busy.**

**I hope, however, that you will all like this new part. I skipped the months of Kiara's journey, because describing where she went, what she did.. it's not very relevant to the story and would have taken too long. Because it's not what the story will be about, nor where the lessons will be learned. I hope you don't mind this too much.**

**Enjoy this new part, I will try, truly, to write more in 2012.**

**For now, I wish you all a very happy New Year and hope you are enjoying part 2;)**

**Lots of love, Xxx C.**


	20. Part Two: Two

_Part Two: Two_

* * *

_What an amazing night._

I sighed and turned around, looking out the grand windows of the palace. The curtains were drawn, but a thin slither of moonlight still entered the room I was in. The moon was almost full and I could feel the energy it gave me. It was impossible to sleep tonight.

My mind wandered back to the evening before. I simply couldn't forget the feel of his arms around me. The evening had been one I'd never forget. After dancing for I don't know how long, we'd needed a break to refresh ourselves. While Aeiroh had gotten us drinks, Iroh had come to me. Warmly, he had looked at me and smiled, claiming how happy he was to see me again. "You've become our family, Lady Kiara. We've missed you a great deal." Such a wonderful man he is. I'd smiled at him and had told him I'd missed them, too.

We'd conversed some more; he had asked me after my travels and I had told him everything about the places I had been, the people I'd met and of course the improvements in my bending. He was, after all, the one who had learned me most about integrating bending moves from the other elements into my own bending. He had been fascinated by my stories about how my bending had progressed and I had ended up promising him to give him a demonstration tomorrow.

It was then, that I had noticed that Aeiroh hadn't returned. I'd spun around to take a look around the room and then I'd spotted him. I'd stopped dead when he'd caught my eye from across the room. There he was, trapped by some Fire Nation officials, still holding our drinks. He had smiled apologetically and I had simply smiled back, to let him know it was allright.

Iroh had then smiled at me and asked her to dance. "If you don't mind taking a turn with an old man." And I had smiled back and gladly accepted it. And so I had twirled off with Iroh for a while. By the time we'd finished, Aeiroh had managed to untangle himself from the officials and had approached us with the drinks. "I'm sorry it took me so long." "That's no problem," I'd replied, "I was perfectly well entertained." And I'd winked at Iroh. The old Prince excused himself then and had left the two of us alone once again.

It was the first chance I'd had all night to really talk with Aeiroh, but I simply hadn't known how to start. So, after an awkward silence, I had asked him: "So how's it been here at the Palace?" "Good." He'd replied. It was such a change from his behavior earlier that night. Almost as if he'd collected himself, he was now a little colder, more distant.

We fell silent once again.

I couldn't understand it, these uneasy silences, I thought, as I lay in bed that night. Before I'd left, he had been my best friend. Now, he was more like a stranger.

_No, not a stranger… a stranger wouldn't make me feel this way…_

And I remembered then how it had felt in his arms, so safe, so familiar…

The rest of the evening had been very wonderful. I'd taught little Prince Geoi how to dance and we'd had some great fun. Then, Aeiroh had once again taken me into his arms and had twirled me around the dance floor until all the people had left and we had been the only remaining people. Even without the musicians, we'd danced on, until I had felt my eyes droop and head nod.

He'd looked at me then and had simply picked me up. I hadn't even had enough energy to protest as he had carried me up to my room. Softly, he had put me into bed and had softly kissed my forehead.

Then he'd left.

And the room had suddenly become colder and my sleepiness had faded very fast.

That's how I spent the rest of the night, startled by the thoughts I had gotten while dreaming of the wonderful night.

Because, _we hadn't talked_. Not really. And it was bothering me to no end.

So the rest of the night I spent tossing and turning, worrying about the change between Aeiroh and me. How could this have happened, how could we have become so awkward towards each other?

I decided, I hoped, that it was only the fact that we hadn't seen each other for such a long time and that it would soon pass.

I remembered again how handsome he had looked and how his eyes hadn't strayed from me for a minute during all our dancing. Those piercing golden eyes were all I could see now.

The sun was slowly peaking over the horizon and I finally started to feel a bit drowsy. I closed my eyes and sighed, hoping to let sleep take over soon.

Suddenly I heard a huge explosion. I was up instantly and looked out of my window. There, I saw smoke coming from the West Wing, where, I remembered, Aeiroh's room was.

Without hesitation, I sprinted out the door and through the hallway. Hundreds of fearful thoughts flew through my head as I ran. I rounded the corner into the hallway that lead to Aeiroh's chambers, when I roughly bumped into someone. I almost crashed to the ground, but a pair of strong arms caught me just in time.

I looked up to see Aeiroh holding me, looking at me with big, worried eyes. "Kiara!"

"Are you allright?" "Yes, yes, I'm fine," I said, "What happened? Are you allright yourself?"

"I'm unharmed." He said, but his face turned grim. "We've been attacked."

"What? By who?" I was shocked. "I don't know, but my guess is on Azula."

This shocked me, and I was stunned for a moment. Memories from my captivation by the rebels crept into my mind and, unconsciously, I shuddered. "Are you cold?" Aeiroh asked. It was then that I realized I was only wearing my petticoat. "No, don't worry. I'm just worried."

He hugged me close then, for a brief moment. I swear I heard him whisper something, but I couldn't hear it. Then, he took my hand and lead me through the hallways. "We need to get to my parents."

We rushed through the halls towards the Royal Chambers, however before they arrived there, they stopped at the Great Hall.

It was devastated.

The gates hung slanted in their frames and the top part of the left gate was blown off. The once spotless white marble walls and floor were covered in black ashes and the air was thick and suffocating. Guards, servants and members of our families were all mulling about. Some were trying to locate the attackers and catch them, others were putting out the fire.

We ran out of the door immediately and there we found the Fire Lord and Lady, Prince Iroh, my mother, my uncle Sokka and aunt Suki and uncle Aang. The Fire Lord looked incredibly angry as he searched the horizon and commanded his troops to search the perimeter.

I ran over to my mother and uncle Aang to help them douse the still roaring fires. After we had pretty much cleared the area, we turned to go back inside.

All of the sudden, Aeiroh pushed me to the ground harshly, falling on top of me.  
"Aeiroh, what the hell are you doing?" I shrugged him off and pushed myself off of the ground. I got up to see everybody staring at an arrow sticking out of the doorframe.

It would have plunged straight into me.

I looked at Aeiroh, surprised, relieved, thankful… He simply looked and me and shrugged. As if it was nothing that he had probably saved my life, or at least saved me from serious injury.  
_Men…_

Fire Lord Zuko immediately sent his troops to the general direction of the area, and he, the Fire Lady, uncle Sokka and aunt Toph – who had come outside somewhere before that - led the way.

In the meantime, Iroh prised a sealed scroll off the arrow. He rolled it open and his eyes widened.

"What is it?" my mother asked. Iroh's shock had not gone unnoticed by anyone.

Silently, he turned the scroll so we could see it.

And there it was. A sign that instilled such fear in all of us, which brought back horrible memories to some and to others only cruel imaginations. But it was to all, that it brought a shudder and a fear, settling deep into our core and making us agitated and on edge.

It was a simple sign, a drawing of late Fire Lord Ozai's royal headpiece, encircled by a blue flame.

It was Azula's sign.

* * *

Later that afternoon, I was traipsing through the Fire Nation forest with Sokka and Aeiroh. After a quick meeting and change of clothes, we had been sent out in search parties throughout the Capital to look for any sign of Azula.

Now, I'm not a person who's scared easily, but I wasn't feeling really comfortable right then, searching for the ex-Princess in the forest.

Or maybe it was just the awkward silence that hung in the air. Sokka was completely focused on the task at hand, skimming every little bush, tree, plant and corner he could find, darting ahead of Aeiroh and me. We walked alongside each other and I couldn't resist sneaking peeks at him. But he just kept on looking straight ahead, barely saying a word.

It was strange.

And awkward.

I decided I hated it. But I simply couldn't fix it. I tried talking, but he shut me down. I didn't understand, he saved my life just this morning and now he was acting like this. I just couldn't comprehend what was going on in his mind and I was at a loss for what to do.

I wished I could just go home.

After what felt like a few hours of this, Sokka suddenly stopped, holding up his hand.

"Guys, I think I heard something."

My head snapped up immediately, scanning the perimeter. Aeiroh took my hand and pulled me closer to him, while searching the area himself.

I could see or hear nothing. But that didn't necessarily say we were safe.

"Stay here, I'm going to look ahead." Sokka said.

He took off ahead and Aeiroh found a stump for us to sit down on.

There we waited.

In total silence.

After a while, I started to worry. I turned to Aeiroh to ask him if we should go find uncle Sokka, but suddenly, he tensed. He held up his hand to silence me and looked around the forest.

"We're not alone." He stated, seemingly cool and collected.

"Kiara, have your water ready."

I drew some water from the pouch around my hip, while I noticed him slowly repositioning into a firebending stance.

It was only when I looked into his eyes that I noticed how worried he really was. Because, other than his eyes, nothing about him betrayed any fear. To this day, I still envy him for that ability to control his emotions.

Slowly, I turned, trying to discern movements, shapes, anything, in the trees. But before I was fully turned, I heard Aeiroh grunt and collapse. Shocked, I tried to catch him, but something hard hit me in the back of my head.

And I blacked out.

* * *

**Dear, dear readers,**

**Thank you so much with putting up with my incredibly slow updating. All I can say is: thank you and I'm so sorry. **  
**However, your wonderful reviews are a seriously wonderful stimulators to get back on the writing horse!;) So thanks so much to all of my reviewers:)**  
**One more thing: I would like to take a moment to mourn the loss of my late and wonderful computer.. it is partly the reason why this took so long, because my wonderful acer passed away a few weeks ago:(**  
**However, I scored myself a beautiful brand new one! So.. yay, let's stop mourning and celebrate that;)**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!:)**

**Lots of Love, Xx C. **


	21. Part Two: Three

_Part Two: Three_

* * *

It was cold. I shivered and turned on my other side. I stopped when I noticed I couldn't move.

I stirred awake and blinked away my sleep. I tried to sit up, but I still couldn't. _I must have been given paralyzing drugs..._ I thought.  
I looked around the room as much as my paralyzed state allowed me to. I could distinguish a few things. The room seemed to be some sort of cave, made out of natural rock, grown with plants. There was one opening in the cave-like room, but it was blocked with iron bars. The situation was not looking good.

A little way from me, I saw a lump lying on the floor. It stirred slightly whith, what I assumed, was breathing. I listened to the sounds the lump made, a soft breathing, in and out… And I realized, to my relief, that it was Aeiroh. At least we were still together.

I could feel some feeling slowly returning to my body. I could twitch my fingertips and continued to do so, hoping I would soon be able to move some more.  
After a little while, it felt as if my face had molten from a frozen state. It was a relief, being able to move my face normally. I swallowed. My mouth was dry. Then I tried to speak.

"A.. Aei.." I croaked, "Aeiroh."

There was no sound for a moment. But then.

"Ki..?" I heard coming from his directon. It seemed he had more trouble with whatever it was that had paralyzed us than me.

I found my speech back much quicker now and felt the rest of my body slowly recovering as well. I lifted up my head. "Are you allright?"

"Yes." Came the reply, with some effort. "You?"

I was able to fully lift myself of the ground now and saw that he was starting to stir more as well. I crawled over to him. "I'm fine." I said, as I reached him. He looked up at me and smiled a little.  
He sat up then and looked around the room we were in. "Where are we?" He asked. "I have no idea. But my guess is that we're still in the forest." He nodded and got up to walk to the door. "Come on, let's try to find a way out of here." He go into a bending stance and moved his foot to kick open the iron door which was in a corner of the barred wall.

Nothing happened.

"What's going on?" I walked over to him, trying to see why he was standing there, looking more lost than I had ever seen him.

"I can't bend."

"What?"

"I can't bend, dammit!"

He was incredibly frustrated and punched the wall forcefully. It scared me, the fact that he couldn't bend. It was a serious disadvantage. However, what scared me more, now, was the question if I could bend.

I took a deep breath and felt all the water around me. Then, I tried to pull some droplets out of the air. But it wouldn't happen. Everytime I had it, the water almost seemed to slip from my fingers again, blocked somehow.

Now, I was truly scared. Without my bending, I felt weak, vulnerable. I hated feeling like this.

Aeiroh sat down on the floor again and, at a loss for what to do now, I joined him.  
"Do you think they drugged us?" I asked, feeling somewhat like a small child who needed her big brother to comfort her.  
Before he could answer me, we heard footsteps nearing us. An iron door in the barred wall was thrown open and unconsciously, I grabbed Aeiroh's hand and scooted closer to him. He wrapped his arm protectively around my shoulder.

"My my, aren't you a cute couple."

The voice made my skin crawl and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. My heart filled with fear at the sight of the terrifying woman who entered our prison.  
Her hair was black and sleek, tied up on her head with her old headpiece. She was dressed in a blood red tunic, with black leggings and black boots.

But her eyes.

Cold, menacing, calculating… Nothing like the warm sunny gold of Aeiroh or the Fire Lord.

No, these eyes instilled a fear in me, so deep, that it almost made me lose hope to ever see the sun again. Which was probably what would happen if she had her way with us. I worked hard to surpress a shudder.

Her cold laugh pierced straight through my soul.  
"What dear nephew, aren't you happy to see your aunt?" I felt Aeiroh's grip on me tighten, but he didn't answer her. "Fine, whatever you want."  
She turned around to stalk out of our prison.

"Why did you bring us here?" I blurted. It was dead silent then.

Slowly she turned around, smiling menacingly.

"You'd like to know that, don't you? You little water wench!"

She slapped me hard across my face. My cheek stung and my eyes watered, but I would not give her the satisfaction by giving her any reaction. I continued to stare at her defiantly. She smiled slightly.  
"Oh well, I might as well tell you. It is simple you see, I will take back my rightful place as Fire Lord and take over this World, the way my ancestors started."

"You'll never succeed." Aeiroh said.

"So naive." She looked at him now. "So hopelessly naive, the both of you. I think we will have some great fun together."

She turned around and nodded to a man I hadn't noticed before. He walked closer to us and looked at me. When I could see his face, I gasped. I knew this face very well and it seemed that he still remembered mine. It was the leader of the rebels who had tortured me last year. And it seemed he was not done with me yet.  
"Hello poppit." He said and he yanked me by my hair, out of Aeiroh's safe arms. He tried to stop him, but was stopped by _her_. She held a dagger of blue fire in front of his throat. "I wouldn't try anything, if I were you, dear nephew. Now sit back and watch."

I was dragged a little farther away and put down in a corner. I got up on my hands and knees, but the rebel leader kicked me harshly in the gut. I fell down with a grunt. He rolled me unto my back and tore open the back of my dress. I knew what came next. I felt the Sharp tip of the whip cut my back, felt the blood drip onto my back.

Again, I made no sound.

Apparently, this frustrated him. "Still stubborn, are we?" He kicked me again and I whimpered. But he was not done yet.|  
I could feel the heat, hear the flame tickle and prepared myself for the pain that would come. I looked up and saw his hand encircled in a white hot flame. He towered high above me and laughed maniacally.

This time, I did scream.  
I screamed so loud that it was the only sound left, filling the room, my ears, my head. Piercing my own soul.

I didn't kow when it stopped or when I stopped screaming.

I simply ended as a heap on the floor, not controlling myself anymore. I was too weak, too broken. Shivering, I laid there as two strong arms carefully wrapped around me, holding me tightly.

I broke down into tears as the most terrifying sound filled my head, instilling more fear in me than I ever thought possible. It was her laugh. Her cold, manical laugh, filling our prison, filling our minds.

Azula laughed and I could hear it long after the prison door had shut.

* * *

**Wow you guys really got me on a roll here! Hope you like it, and yess, the roll is still on, so expect part 2 chapter four really soon!;)**

**Lots of love, C.**


	22. Part Two: Four

_Part Two: Four_

* * *

It was night. I could feel it, because I could feel the Moon's pesence. It comforted me, as I sat in Aeiroh's lap, still sniffing a little. With my head pressed to his chest I listened to his heartbeat, silent and steady. It was calming, soothing my nerves and taking my thoughts away from the pain.

After a while I lifted my head to look at him. He was simply sitting there, looking at me.

His eyes were so sad.

I smiled at him and he gave me a little smile in return. "Thank you." I said.

I meant to thank him for holding and comforting me, but it seemed that he was not pleased by that.

"Don't, Kiara."

He turned his face away from me.

"Why, what's wrong?"

I touched his cheek, turning his face towards me, looking into his eyes.

His eyes were downcast and he avoided my gaze.

"Don't thank me."

He looked at me then and his eyes looked troubled, pained. I wished he would open up to me. I wished he would simply tell me what's wrong. I wished he would trust me.

I held his gaze for a very long time.

Finally, he shook his head, looking away. "I should've protected you." It was silent and I barely caught it… but I did. He looked at my back, pain now even more evident in his eyes.

"I let him hurt you. I'm so sorry Kiara, I can't believe I let them hurt you… I'm just… it's unforgivable, but I am truly, tuly sorry."

"Aeiroh, what do you mean? You couldn't help it." "Yes I could!" He yelled so forcefully, I couldn't help but cringe away. This calmed him down a little.

"Kiara, I'm sorry… I should've protected you. I'm supposed to protect you, but I just let it happen."

I shushed him. "Aeiroh, it's not your fault. You couldn't have protected me, there's nothing either of us could have done."

"But I should have." His voice was raspy now. "Aeiroh." I didn't understand why he took it so heavily. "It wasn't your fault. Stop worrying about it."

"I can't, dammit, I can't Kiara!"

"But _why_?"

"Because _I love you_."

It was silent then. I was struck speechless.

_He… loves me?_

A whilwind of feelings were unleashed within me at that moment and I simply didn't know what to do with them. I was scared, happy, angry, confused, but most of all.. overjoyed. That one emotion took over all others and filled my heart with joy, an incredible joy.

_He loves me._

And suddenly, I wasn't so confused anymore. Because I knew why he had acted so strange and, more importantly, why it had bothered me so much. Why it had hurt to barely hear from him, to have him avoid my gaze.

Because I loved him back.

He broke the silence then, as if he had been in the same kind of daze, emotions swirling around his mind, just like I had been. But he had figured it out now. He knew. We both did.

"I love you, Kiara. I think, maybe, I always have."

"I love you too, Aeiroh."

I turned towards him now, fully facing him. I lifted up my hand, caressing his face. I trailed my hand down from his temple to his forehead, moving o ver his nose, his lips, tracing around them and up again, to his temple, before slowly tracing the line of his jaw, down this throat and his chest, before stopping at his heart. I pressed my hand and felt his heartbeat. He'd closed his eyes and his hands now moved towards the hand I had over his hart, pressing it close, keeping it there.

He looked at me intensely, his golden eyes smoldering. My breath hitched as I got lost in those pools of liquid gold. They were mesmerizing… kind… and filled with love.

"I missed you so much when you were gone." He whispered then and I focused on his voice. He smiled slightly. "I used to stare at the moon all night long, thinking you would see the same moon… I always pictured you waterbending. You look so beautiful when you're bending." He trailed of then, caressing my face and slowly taking my braid in his hand. He slipped off the ribbon and untangled my hair. A wave of long, brown locks cascaded down my shoulders. I blushed, slightly. It was very rare for me to wear my hair down. It made me feel somewhat vulnerable. But not scared, no. Aeiroh could never make me feel afraid.

I blushed as his hand brushed through my hair, pulling, twisting, adoring it.

"I missed you as well." I confessed. "I wrote you so many letters, each of them telling you basically the same. How nothing compared to the Fire Nation. It was only later that I discovered I felt that way because you were not with me.

"I've been so stubborn," I sighed, "I should never have left. But I wanted my freedom, I had fought so hard for it. I guess I didn't yet realize that freedom is not the most important thing."

"It's okay." He said, "I'm here now. And I'll never let you go Kiara. I promise."

We looked at each other then and there was a fire burning in his eyes which captured me. It was filled with passion and love. So I moved forward and put my lips to his.

He leaned in, responding to it softly. But soon, the kiss, this wonderful, mindblowing kiss became deeper, more intense, more passionate.

We broke the kiss off for a short moment to catch some breath. I gasped for air and looked at him. He was… and angel. That was all I could think. He was perfect. And he _loved me_.

"I love you." I said and before I knew it my lips were back on his.

And I plunged right in.


	23. Part Two: Five

_Part Two: Five_

My back was killing me. I awoke a little from the sleepy haze I was in to find out I was extremely sore. The wounds inflicted by the rebel leader burned and itched. It was very uncomfortable.  
But it was not the only place where I was sore. The muscles in my thighs were aching incredibly, and there was a funny feeling in between my legs.

Suddenly, the ground I was lying on moved. Fear-struck, I froze. Then I noticed something strange. My head, my arms, the upper half of my body was not exactly lying on the floor. Actually, I was snuggled up quite comfortably against something warm, smooth…

I shot up from my comfortable position, looking at what I had been lying on. It was Aeiroh.

And he was naked.

I quickly looked at myself and discovered I was in about the same state. _What on Earth has…_ but before I could even finish that thought in my mind, memories of the night before came flooding back. He had comforted me, blamed himself for my pain. And he'd said it… he _loved_ me.

So after that confession, what we had done… I still couldn't believe it, couldn't decide if I should be happy or not. This was not the way it was supposed to happen! In a prison, on a hard, dirty floor, my back wounded from torturing. Yet it had been perfect and everything I'd ever wanted.  
I loved him.  
He loved me.  
So we had made love.

I was still somewhat confused by all of this, but he stirred before waking up. He opened his gorgeous eyes and smiled lazily at me. "Good morning, my love."

My heart was about ready to burst with love for him at that point. And all my worries were gone. Because, no matter what, my first time had been with him. That had been all I needed to make it perfect. So I beamed back at him, "Good morning to you too, my angel." Then I paused and furrowed my brow, "At least, I think it's morning." He smiled at me, radiating a happiness that couldn't be dimmed by our imprisoned state.

_My angel… _I thought.  
_It fits him perfectly._

Somewhere that night, I had come up with that little nickname, angel. It just seemed to fit, because he was my angel. And I believe he liked it, for every time I said that, including this one, his eyes twinkled like stars and his smile brightened even more.

I leaned in to kiss him lightly on the lips, but he pulled me in and, soon, the kiss deepened.  
After a little while, I lay on his chest again, listening to his heart.  
I frowned when I thought of something.

"Aeiroh."  
"Mmh?"  
"Can you bend again?"

He sat up silently, his brow furrowing. "Let's find out."  
He breathed in, sitting up straight and straightening his back. He folded his hands together and with tremendous concentration, started to move his hands.

Slowly, but surely, a steady flame began to burn. After a few moments of this, Aeiroh stood and practiced a few more complicated bending moves. While the flame was still unsteady and small at the beginning, it grew slightly with each punch or kick he threw. It was magnificent watching him bend like this, in all his glory. It may sound strange to me, but at that moment I was so filled with love, I could only see how wonderful he looked and feel the power he exuded. It made me happy. It gave me hope.

I sighed, relieved. It gave hope that his bending was back so soon. Now we could come up with an escape plan. But he wasn't satisfied just yet. "Come on Kiara, we need to see if you can bend as well."

I was, however, very uncertain about this. I had no solid water to bend with and after the beating from the day before, I still felt weak. However, I should have known Aeiroh would understand. Even before I opened my mouth in protest he came to me, wiping his brow."Bend my sweat."

I looked at him, pleasantly surprised for the fact that I could start slowly. I focused intently, feeling the drops of sweat on the back of his hand, feeling the water as a whole. I could feel its pull and feel the power of the moon. I could slowly feel my power returning, feeling it at the edges of my mind. So I pushed the water and pulled back.

It felt heavy and unnaturally difficult at first, but slowly I felt the water cooperate. After a while, it felt as if I hadn't ever been blocked at all. I opened my eyes and spun the water in a little circle. Then I materialized some water out of the air around us. _Praise Yue,_ I thought, _I'm back._

I looked at Aeiroh and saw him grin at me. I didn't know how long it had taken me, but the fact that we both had our bending back filled me with energy and adrenaline. We would get out of here.  
"Okay, let's get out of here." I said. Aeiroh nodded. We had no idea of where we were and how to get out, so the only option we had was to simply take it step by step, starting with opening the door.

The door was heavy and had nothing to look through. I listened carefully but couldn't detect any sounds of movement on the other side. Nodding at Aeiroh he took a stance and with one swift movement swung his leg up high, bending a fiery arc, before kicking down on the lock and opening the door.

The door entered into a gloomy hallway. The walls were high and of the same rock-like structure as the prison had been. It seemed like no one was there. Aeiroh took the lead, turning left into the hallway and gesturing for me to follow him.

On instinct, he guided us through the hallways. It was dark and cold and the fact that we ran into nobody, not even a guard, gave me the chills. From his posture, I could see that Aeiroh was suspicious as well. He moved slowly and cautiously ahead as we turned corner after corner, walking through more hallways than I could count.

We turned a corner to the right and suddenly Aeiroh stopped. I almost bumped into him, but before I could hit him for not watching out, I could see it. Finally, there was something else than this eerie deserted maze. There was light at the end of the hallway.

Thrilled, I fastened my pace, practically running towards the exit. "Kiara." Aeiroh whispered fiercely, fear filtering through his voice. "Kiara stop." But I ignored him. _He's such a worrywart. _I smiled to myself and ran out into the sunlight; nothing would stop me from being free.

Suddenly, my foot caught on something and I fell face-down in the dirt. Smoke swirled around my head and blocked out the light. All I could see was black. I felt a hand at my ankle, which worked its way up to my waist. I knew it was Aeiroh when another arm wrapped itself around my waist, lifting me up. I heard him huff softly. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me along with him.

I blinked when suddenly we were out in the light. Aeiroh then moved his arm, holding my hand and breaking into a run. "You just couldn't be careful, could you?" He said with his jaw clenched. I decided this was probably not the best moment to argue with him and picked up my pace, running along with him.

Lightning suddenly struck a tree on my right, setting it on fire. Blue and red fire was hurled at our backs as we continued to run through the forest. My breath caught short and I could feel my energy dwindle. _We need to come up with a plan and fast… _ I was scared of what the consequences might be otherwise.

"Aeiroh," I spit out, out of breath, "Aeiroh we can't keep running, we've got to do something!" He looked at me, his expression panicked. "I don't know what to do!" I clenched my jaw and looked ahead. Suddenly, the answer doomed up ahead of us. We running straight through the forest and were running right into a branch of the river I had escaped in the year before. Beyond the river was a clearing.

"I have a plan." I told Aeiroh, who nodded at me, telling me to continue. "It's a wild gamble," I frowned, as I realized that, wild gamble or not, we wouldn't really have a choice, "I need you to hold them off for as long as you can, while I propel myself up. I'm going to try to alert the palace."

Aeiroh looked at me for what seemed like a long moment – but since we were still running it was probably only a nanosecond – and then set his jaw determinedly. "I'll keep them busy." and he winked, before looking at the sky. "If I'm correct about where we are, the palace should be located South from here, so try to look in that direction first." And he pointed to our left.

We neared the clearing and I took one last look at Aeiroh, before jumping up and bending the water around myself, rising up as high as I could. In a matter of seconds I had spotted the palace, which was, as Aeiroh had predicted, left from me. I froze the water under my feet into a platform and continued to bend more water in the direction of the palace, freezing it every 10 meters or so, creating a bridge. I worked as hard as I could and was lucky that the full moon was out.

I was almost done when the ice platform under me shook violently. I looked down and saw Aeiroh fighting what must've been a hundred rebels. He was having trouble keeping them away, and some had managed to damage my platform. Trying to steady my footing, I quickly finished my bridge to the palace (I might have smashed a window there and prayed to Yue that I hadn't hurt anyone in there) before crashing my platform down, causing a great tidal wave to wash away about 20 rebels.

However, the rebels kept coming. I saw Aeiroh fighting them off like a lion and rushed to his side to help him. Together, we tried to prevent the rebels from destroying our makeshift bridge to the palace. I had already knocked down a couple of soldiers, when suddenly, Aeiroh and I were divided. Aeiroh was struggling more and more, and seemed to be overtaken by an enormous group of rebels, who simply threw themselves on him.

This distracted me so, that I was caught unaware and received a painful blow from a fireball. I was knocked against the bridge and hit my had painfully on the ice. I had to blink a few times, the hit had caused my vision to blur slightly. However, when I regained my sight, I almost wished I hadn't. I was terrified, when the rebel leader had appeared in front of me. He loomed over me, his precious whip – which was now encased in flaming blue fire – in his hand, coiling menacingly.

He smiled a cruel smile at me and I couldn't repress a shiver. "Let's see if you learn this time, dearie." He said. I was paralyzed with fear, there was nothing I could do now to stop him.

His hand moved back.

His whip moved up.

And he struck.

* * *

**So sorry dear all for making you wait! However, school has kept me unbelievably busy these days. However, the period is finished and I finally have some time off (yay!) so I finally had a chance to write! I personally hate reading a thrilling cliffhanger and having to wait ages for it to continue (I really am sorry when I have to make you guys wait!) so I promise that I'll really try to put the next chapter up the coming weekend;)**

**By the way, have you guys seen the first episode of Korra yet? OMG it's so awesome! I won't spoil anything, but God, I'm so excited! A bit nostalgic for the old characters though, but I'm sure we're all gonna love Korra and her whole gang;)**

**Well, hope you enjoyed it! Until next time,**

**Xx C.**


	24. Part Two: Six

_Part Two: Six_

Seemingly out of nowhere, a huge blast of fire came at the rebel leader. It hit him so hard he flew up in the air, landing 10 yards away. Still a bit shell-shocked, I looked up to see where the fire had come from. I sagged with relief when I found the source coming towards me. The Fire Lord was hurrying towards me, while behind him the whole gAang, my whole family, fanned out to fight the rebels.

The Fire Lord pulled me to my feet. "Are you allright?" "Yes," I nodded, "thank you for saving me there." He nodded and, having assured that I actually was allright, he moved on, fighting more rebels. I joined him, taking a firebending stance and lashing out at the rebels surrounding me with short bursts of water.

I was able to struck down a few rebels, when unexpectedly, one hit me in my side, which caused a lapse in my offense. Struggling to regain my balance, I had to dodge quickly when he engaged me in a close-combat fight. The man was a strong fire bender, but he was surprised by my unexpected earth-, fire- or airbending moves. After dodging and tiring him for a few moments, I noticed a weakening in his offense. Gathering water around me, I jumped up and struck him down hard with a fierce water-kick.

My victory, however, was short-lived, because the rebels still seemed to be coming from out of nowhere. I saw my mother only a few yards away from me and managed to fight my way across to her. "I can't believe there are so many." I told her. She just nodded, concentrating more on the fighting. Together, we created a large octopus, striking out what must've been at least 40 rebels.

Then, we heard her laugh. Azula had finally decided to 'grace' the battlefield with her presence. She and Fire Lord Zuko engaged in a magnificent display of a fire duel. However, Azula was soon aided by her loyal rebels and managed to bring the Fire Lord down to his knees. Preparing to strike him with lightning, while his hands were tied down, she was swept out of her momentum by an unexpected blast of lightning.

Standing there, looking more regal, more intimidating and more powerful than I'd ever seen him, was Aeiroh. _I didn't know he could create lightning…_ I was fascinated by him, but was soon forced out of my staring when I was knocked to my side by one of the rebels. "Oof.." It was the most unflattering I'd ever been in battle. I managed to quickly roll over onto my back and dodge the sword the man stabbed at me. Kicking him swiftly in the back of his knees, I took him down and froze his limbs in ice. I jumped up, ready to take on the next one.

The fighting seemed to be endless, going on and on until, at some point the rebel I was battling at that moment was accidentally struck by blue fire. I realized then, that almost every battle had fallen still, to look in awe at the fighting going on between Aeiroh and Azula.

Fear gripped my heart as I watched the terrifying display of fire and lightening. I could only tear my eyes away for a second, but assessed the situation quite thoroughly. The remaining number of rebels was very low, we were probably in a majority. But the only ones left fighting – except for Aieroh and Azula – were Toph and the rebel leader. Toph, thank God, seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

I wished I could have said the same about Aeiroh, however he and Azula seemed to be evenly matched. Like glue my eyes were stuck to their battle, praying every second to Yue (and even to Agni) that Aeiroh would be safe.

Alternating between lighting and fire, the darkened sky turned blue, then red, then blue… The fight was harsh, neither side showing any mercy. Azula, careless to whatever damage she might do, slowly set the wood around us on fire. I was vaguely aware of my mother and Aang dosing some of the fires around us, but couldn't pay too much attention. My heart was gripped with fear and I refused to think even for one second that Aeiroh might lose.

If he lost… I shuddered at what might happen then.

One of Azula's shots missed Aeiroh, but went straight for my mother. Quickly, Fire Lord Zuko pulled her out of the way. This, however, seemed to trigger something in Azula. A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes and her mouth set in an evil smirk. I didn't know what was happening, but I was paralyzed, because the change in her attitude, that glimmer in the crazy ex-Princess' eyes told me that this was going to end badly. Because she had a plan.

I watched, helplessly as she sent an enormous blast of fire towards Aeiroh. The blast was so powerful, he was actually shoved back a few feet. While he recovered, Azula had quickly started to draw lightening. I wanted to shout out at Aeiroh to warn him, that this would go wrong, but I was afraid to distract him from the fight. If he lost focus for one moment, this all would be over for sure.

My heart sank in my stomach when Aeiroh calmly took his stance, ready to redirect Azula's lightening. Something was way off, Azula's manic eyes made her look dangerous and confident. I ripped my eyes away from her, hoping, praying, whishing, doing anything I could to ask any god there is that Aeiroh could do this. That he would survive.

Azula, having gathered her lightening, was ready, posed to strike. However, in the last second she altered her position, firing off the lightening…

…straight at me.

_So this is what it feels like. _ I remember thinking in those split seconds. I had always wondered what it had felt like for my mother, all these years ago when Azula had pulled the same trick in her Agni Kai with Fire Lord Zuko.

However, my mother had been saved. The fire bolt was now coming right at me and I couldn't move, couldn't even breathe. I was completely paralyzed with fear, so certain that I was about to die.

What happened next, however, was both predictable and so incredibly terrifying that there are no words which can describe how I felt then. In those split seconds, Aeiroh raced across the clearing, crossing perhaps 20 yards in no time to reach me and push me out of the way.

I smacked to the ground and watched in utter fear and horror as he then was hit by the lightening. He collapsed on the ground and my world spun.

Someone screamed and it took me a while to realize that it was me. I was by his side then, holding him as electric spasms shook through his body. He was still then. "No…" I whispered. "NO!" I was angrier now, shaking him, almost forcing him to wake up and open his eyes.

He didn't.

The cruel, ice cold laugh pierced through the air then, as Azula laughed at her triumph. Still desperately clutching Aeiroh's body, I slowly looked up at her. Laughing maniacally she was towering over me. "Well well, looks like my poor little nephew was too soft after all. Taking too much after that weak brother of mine… How pathetic to risk your life to save a water wench such as you." She was looking directly into my eyes now, smiling evilly. "Oh well, no need to worry about him anymore now."

She continued to laugh then, mocking me, haunting me. My vision blurred red with hatred, while I still held the lifeless form of Aeiroh in my arms. Carefully I laid him down and stood up to face the evil witch that killed him.

Suddenly on fire, fury coursed through my veins and I launched a huge ice blast at Azula. She dodged, gracefully jumping out of the way. She smirked then and took a firebending stance, acknowledging me as her new opponent.

She was quick, I had to admit that. Blue fire flew around me as I spun and jumped, weaving my way around it. I wasn't firing anything back at her yet, simply dodging her attacks. Apparently it frustrated her. The shots got more frantic, more dangerous.

"Too afraid to fire anything back at me, peasant?" She panted – yes, she actually _panted_ – as she fired another huge blast of fire at me. But she didn't know what I knew. She didn't feel what I felt. As result of her mental breakdown during Sozin's comet, she had lost some of her cunning, her strategic ability to think. And apparently, she had forgotten the strength of the Moon.

"What a nice way to avenge my dear nephew's _death,_" she drawled, "with _cowardice_." This was the final straw. I saw an opening, saw a lapse in her weakening defense. I immediately shot a huge blast of water at her left hand, freezing it. In less then a second, I had frozen her other hand as well. Then her feet. I knew she could escape within seconds, if she chose to, but she didn't. It seemed she was waiting, an amused smile playing around her cruel lips.

"I am not a coward." I told her, my voice slicing through the air like ice. "And you _will pay_ for what you have done to Aeiroh."

I felt it then. Felt the power of the Moon and the power of my grief and my love for Aeiroh. My emotions swirled around in me and the Moon gave them power. I moved my hands and set them. Azula was frozen in her spot but her eyes betrayed fear. She felt that she had lost control. She couldn't move a muscle.

Not if I didn't want her to.

It was then that I started to move. However, it didn't feel as if I was doing it. It was as if an invisible force, perhaps the force of my grief, pushed and pulled me. It guided me through my actions, but I knew full well what my intentions were.

I moved around Azula, feeling as if I were dancing. It was a cruel dance, though. Filled with grief for Aeiroh, hate for Azula and the power of the Full Moon, I let my emotions take the upper hand. I needed revenge. I twirled and spun around the evil woman, controlling her with the movement of my arms.

Azula stood stiff as a board, but slowly, she began to glow. It started at her feet, blue lines of light igniting the rest of her body. Up, up the light went, until her whole body seemed to light up with thin, glowing lines. It was the water in her veins, glowing like her own, cold and menacing fire.

I faced Azula and she looked me straight into my eyes. The moment snapped me out of my trance a little. Her gaze pierced right through me. It was as if she had recognized what was about to happen and, surprisingly enough, she seemed to accept it. My grief pulled me under once more and before I knew it, the blue light faded. The veins turned to ice and Azula hit the ground with a thud.

I turned my back on her and made my way over to Aeiroh. Some figures were huddled around him, but I couldn't tell any of them apart. I didn't need to anyway. My entire focus was on Aeiroh. It seemed hands were already trying to heal him, but they disappeared when I sat down by his side. I touched his injury and a drop of water fell on my hand.

_A tear… How peculiar…_

That moment, I realized it was my tear. I had been crying, I _was_ crying.

The tear had fallen on my right hand and had started glowing. Instantly, Aeiroh's wound was glowing and he was healing. The light became pure white and spread through his whole body. It ebbed away and everything was still then.

Nothing happened for a long moment. Then, Aeiroh's eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes.

He was safe. He was _alive_.

Collapsing onto his chest I broke down sobbing. I clung tightly to him, holding him as firm as I could. Because I would never let him go again.

* * *

**Hey everyone!**

******Really sorry to keep you all waiting for so long, but for some reason this chapter was incredibly hard to write.**

**I've taken to listening to the soundtrack of the show, and it really sets the mood for writing, so my writing process has become really intense. It's probably why it took me so long, I could only write short pieces each time. Plus, I totally suck at fighting scenes:P**

**Well, I really hope you have all enjoyed it! I'll update soon to keep you posted with the adventures of Kiara and Aeiroh;)**

**In the meantime.. do you all love Korra as much as I do?:D**

**Lots of Love, C. **


	25. Part Two: Seven

_Part Two: Seven_

The steady breathing was the only sound in the room. _In… Out… In… Out…_ I listened carefully, reveling in the sound. There had been moments when I'd feared I would never hear it again. But it continued steadily, to my great relief.

I was sitting in Aeiroh's room, next to his bed. Aeiroh had been resting here for three days now, sleeping – and breathing – steadily, while his body recovered. My mother and I had taken turns to heal him every hour. Aeiroh had been placed in his bed and had yet to wake. So I stayed by his side, refusing to leave him even for a moment. I was still afraid something would go wrong.

I studied him now, as he laid there. He laid on his back, his arms on his sides. The red silken sheets were pulled up to his chest. His face looked peaceful. It was tilted slightly, facing me. Studying his face, I remembered all the details; the way the corners of his mouth curved upward ever slightly, the way his thick lashes brushed his beautiful high cheekbones, the slight stubble on his jaw and chin and all the contours on his face. The sunlight streamed in the room from the windows on the other side. The light created a halo around his head, making him look like the true prince he was.

A lock of hair had fallen out of place, which now lay on his forehead, tickling his nose. Gently, I brushed it away, tucking it back in place. I sighed then, as I remembered when I had done this same thing earlier. The same stubborn lock of hair had been in his eyes then, as I had brushed it away. This didn't go unnoticed by prince Iroh, who was in the room with me then.

Earnestly, he had looked at me, before he spoke: "Young lady Kiara, you seem to care for Aeiroh a great deal." I had actually blushed then, before steadily replying: "I do." There was a moment of silence, before Iroh continued. "The powers you displayed against Azulah were quite magnificent, my dear. Do you know how that happened?" I did know that, but I was afraid to tell anyone, before I had a chance to tell Aeiroh. And what if I would never get the chance to tell him? I would be better off having kept it to myself, because having told others would hurt just that much more.

I remained silent, at a loss for words. The old prince seemed to understand. "He will make it. And when he does, you will be welcomed here by all. You will make a magnificent lady, Kiara." And with a smile, he bowed and headed out of the room.

This had been two days ago and I was still mulling the conversation over in my mind. _A magnificent lady… welcomed by all… What does he mean? That I will be Fire Lady?_ The prospect of marrying Aeiroh was one I didn't dare to think of yet. I didn't even know if his feelings yet. And there was also that nagging doubt… Becasuse, if I would marry Aeiroh, would I become Fire Lady? Would I stay here in the Fire Nation forever, leaving my Tribe and my people?

It's true, not too long ago, I had never wanted to return to the South Pole again. But I had grown during the time that I had been away and I knew now where my place in life was. I knew that, one day, I would have to lead the Southern Water Tribe and take care of my people. It was my duty. It was my destiny.

And Aeiroh… I loved him, that was certain. But could we work it out? Would he come with me to the South Pole? Could I bear it to leave my people and stay here with him? I didn't know what to do. I'd been brooding over this question ever since my conversation with Iroh and I was at a loss. The question I faced was a harsh one and it was even tougher without Aeiroh. I had to face it alone, but the outcome would affect us both. What was I to do?

The door opened and the Fire Lord appeared. I looked up and he smiled slightly, making his way over to the bed. He sat down on a chair next to the bed. "You have been here for days, your parents worry about you." He spoke. I looked up at him and knew I could trust him to understand. "I just don't want to leave him alone."

He nodded and fell silent. Looking at his son's sleeping face, his brow creased with concern. I could only imagine what it must have been like for him, seeing his son that way. He had almost lost his child. At this thought, I felt my eyes water up. I quickly blinked them away, but the feeling of grief was now increased by sadness for the Fire Lord, who looked so vulnerable in his grieving.

As if he had heard my thoughts, the Fire Lord looked up at me and smiled. "I haven't had the chance to thank you yet." He paused for a second looking straight into my eyes. His intense golden stare didn't make me uncomfortable, as it reminded me so much of Aeiroh's eyes, which were exactly the same. And the same as with Aeiroh, it gave me the feeling as if Fire Lord Zuko looked straight through my soul.

After a few moments, he continued. "You have done what few would have been able to do. Something even I could not… Although, this was perhaps, because I had always hoped that Azula would change." He sighed. "I guess, she never would have. And while I continued to hope the best for her, I risked one of the most important people in my life. My son was almost killed because I was stupid and naïve." I could hear the strain now, as the Fire Lord continued to speak. He was staring at the ground now, his hands balled in fists.

It wasn't his fault and to see him so guilt-wrecked over his son, over something that was not his fault, was heart breaking. So, even though I'd never had much interaction with the stately – and slightly intimidating – Fire Lord, I now laid my hand on top of his, trying to comfort him. In a steady voice, I reassured him: "It is not your fault. It was never your fault, Lord Zuko." He looked up at me then, a watery smile appearing on his face. "You sound just like your mother when you say that. It's probably what she would have said if I'd told her this." I smiled back at him now, pleased that he seemed happier. "Thank you, again. And please, just call me Zuko." I nodded and retreated my hand, smiling at him.

He looked at Aeiroh again and sighed. "I have to get back to my duties, now. Will you watch over him?" I nodded as he looked at me. The Fire Lord rose and walked to the door and opened it. Just before going out of the room, he turned around and called me. "Thank you Kiara, for saving my son's life. You have saved the future of our family and our Nation. We will always be grateful to you." After this comment he turned his heel and left the room.

He left me even more confused that before and I sighed, looking at Aeiroh again. I saved the future of the Nation, the whole Fire Nation… Aeiroh could never leave this place, I knew that now. So who would I choose? Aeiroh or my Tribe? My love or my people?

A drop of water fell on my hand and I realized it was a tear. I noticed then, that I was crying and I let it go. Perhaps I would feel a little better if I did.

After a while, my tears had run out and I simply sat there, staring at Aeiroh, not thinking about anything. I didn't know how long I sat there, simply soaking up the image of my beloved prince. All I know is that, when the door opened again, it was dark outside. Someone had lit candles and the dark room was illuminated slightly.

The people who had entered the room were my parents. My father looked grave and my mother's eyes seemed fixed on the ground. They made their way over to me without a word. Then, my father sat down next to me. "Kiara, we would like to talk to you." He fell silent for a second, before he continued. "Could we discuss this somewhere else?" I looked at him, curious and a bit fearful of the sad look in his eyes. I nodded.

We moved out of Aeiroh's room and before the door closed, I took one last look at him. In my mind, I silently promised him I would be back soon.

After having headed over to the guest suite my parents had occupied, we sat down. My parents looked at me, and it was now that I finally realized my mother's eyes were red, puffy and seemed on the brink of tears. A feeling of panic started to bubble up in my stomach. My father sighed and prepared to tell me what was going on…

* * *

Later that night, I was sitting in the windowsill of my room at the Fire Nation palace. It was a wide windowsill, covered with comfortable cushions. The curtains were drawn around me, hiding me from the room. Outside, the sky was black as ink and few stars dotted the skies. A beam of moonlight fell across the sky and into my room. Usually, it comforted me. But it seemed that nothing could, now.

Looking up at the stars, I could hear my parents voices ringing through my mind, sharp as knives. My father was ill, they had said. Terminally ill. Even my mother could not heal him.  
So that was it. Father was dying. We didn't know how long he would have. It was a shock to say at least. Something so unexpected, so fatal, so awful.

Even though we'd had our differences in the past, I loved my father dearly and losing him seemed terrifying. We had cried, all three of us. I had hugged my parents and together we had grieved. Even though my father's life was not over, it felt as though it was.  
We had not yet lost my father, but we were well and truly awaiting the end now. I have always believed it the worst thing possible to have to sit and wait for a loved one's death. In that moment, my conviction only grew. Never before had I felt so helpless.

Through the haze of misery, I had managed to hug my parents and stay strong for them. I had managed to make my way to my room. I had managed to end up here, in my windowsill. Undisturbed, while I pondered.

We would go home tomorrow, they had said. We would leave here, so my father could be among his people.

It seemed almost cruel, the way the decision was now made for me. I would have no choice.  
I would leave the Fire Nation and begin my training for the throne. Even though we did not know how long it might take, I had to be prepared to take my place, lead my people, any time it became necessary.

My people needed me.  
We would leave the Fire Nation.  
And I was certain, I would never come back.

Grieving for what would be my loss, the loss of two loved ones, I had sat frozen in my windowsill for many hours. Suddenly, I was disturbed by the sound of someone knocking. I didn't answer, but I could hear that the person had entered my room anyway.

As I seemed invisible, I was not physically interrupted. However, the familiar voice of Iroh rang out in my room. "Lady Kiara, he is awake."

After a moment of silence, I heard shuffling footsteps and the door closing. He had left.

I sighed. So he had awoken. Just in time, it seemed. Just in time for the end.

I knew what I had to do, though that didn't make it any easier. My task was clear as was my duty. But my heart was wrecked. While it felt as if my spirit could never feel joy again, I resigned myself to my task. I took a deep sigh and rose from the windowsill.

Taking one last look at the moon outside, I turned and made my way back to his room for the last time.


End file.
